Journal of Biotechnology & Biomaterials
Open Access

Abstract

Th e dune grass Leymus mollis (Triticeae; Poaceae, genus Leymus) is a wild relative of wheat and grows mainly along sea coasts and in inland dry areas (Kishii et al. 2003). Th e tolerance of the dune grass Leymus mollis (Triticeae; Poaceae) to various biotic and abiotic stresses makes it very useful genetic resource for wheat breeding. Wide-hybridization between L. mollis and wheat allowed the introduction of Leymus chromosomes into wheat genetic background and facilitated the integration of useful traits into wheat. However, the genetic bases controlling L. mollis physiological tolerance to multiple environmental stresses remain largely unexplored. Using suppression subtractive hybridization, we identifi ed 116 drought stress responsive genes from L. mollis and confi rmed their diff erentially expression by drought. Th ese gene were categorized into 13 functional category including cell defense and stress response, transcriptional regulation, signal transduction, biosynthesis of compatible solutes and metabolism of cell walls in response to drought stress. Analyses of the expression patterns in response to drought stress and abscisic acid treatment by northern blot and RT-PCR were validated for selected genes. Furthermore, some selected genes were shown to be up-regulated under salt stress. Th e genes identifi ed in this study represents valuable source as expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for analysis and identifi cation of alien chromosomes introduced into wheat. Furthermore, being highly conserved, genetically associated with drought tolerance and transferable to wheat, these ESTs provide signifi cant tools for the development of EST-derived markers and for assaying variations in the transcribed parts of the complex and highly redundant wheat genome.

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