Transcriptome analysis of 12 flowering ecotypes of Capsella bursa-pastoris

We used a digital gene expression (DGE) system to generate partial gene expression profiles for 12 selected samples. Significant differences in gene expression between early- and late-flowering samples were detected for 72 candidate genes for flowering time. Genes related to circadian rhythms were significantly overrepresented among the differentially expressed genes. Our data suggest that circadian clock genes play an important role in the evolution of flowering time, and C. bursa-pastoris plants exhibit expression differences for candidate genes likely to affect flowering time across the broad range of environments they face in China. Digital gene expression analysis was performed on RNA from 12 different flowering samples of C. bursa-pastoris. These samples are from different areas, 6 of which represent early-flowering ecotypes, and the other 6 samples represent late-flowering samples