cDNA sequencing projects from RIKEN and SSP consortium. Arabidopsis thaliana

Full length cDNAs are essential to understand the function of genes. A. thaliana genome sequencing has revealed the presence of approximately 25,000 genes. In order to understand the transcriptional product of these genes, the SSP Consortium, originally SPP, consisting of Salk, Stanford, and PGEC, UC Berkley, is involved in isolation and complete sequencing of full-length cDNAs for 8000 genes. This project is funded by NSF Plant Genome Research Grant DBI9975718/0196098 A cDNA sequencing project is also in progress at the RIKEN Genomic Sciences Center, Japan, for functional analysis of Arabidopsis genes. They have constructed 20 full-length cDNA libraries using biotinylated CAP trapper method. Aim is to study genes induced during drought, cold and high salinity stress. They plan to collaborate with SSP consortium. Data generated by the SSP consortium and RIKEN has been submited to GenBank.