NSF Award
0312656
The genome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has been annotated to show the presence of<br/>close to 30,000 genes. Many of these genes are both predicted by computer programs and<br/>supported by experimental evidence ' their similarity to characterized genes from plants, animals<br/>and microbes. However, 15-20 % of the gene annotations are based only on computer evidence.<br/>In addition, comparison of the Arabidopsis genome sequence with its close relative Brassica<br/>oleracea (the cabbage/cauliflower/Brussels sprouts family) reveals many regions of sequence<br/>conservation that are not at present annotated as genes. Preliminary experimental analysis of<br/>some of these regions indicates that a significant fraction do encode genes that have so far been<br/>unrecognized by the annotation process. Full-length cDNAs provide both the basis for greatly<br/>improved gene structure annotation by alignment of their sequences with genomic DNA, and<br/>also the reagents with which to analyze their function by expression and other kinds of analysis.<br/>The objective of this research is to generate full-length cDNAs for approximately 2,000 of these<br/>genes that represent the least well-understood genes in the genome. We will use 5 and 3 RACE<br/>to define the precise structure of each gene and then generate full-length cDNA clones for<br/>protein-coding genes (ORFs) in a recombination vector suitable for functional studies by the<br/>research community.<br/>We will generate clones and sequence at a rate of approximately 100 clones per month within<br/>three months of the start of the project with a goal of producing 2,000 novel and previously<br/>uncharacterized clones over the period of the project.<br/>Sequences of the clones will be submitted to GenBank as they are generated and will also be<br/>available from the TIGR ftp site. The clones themselves will be made freely available to the<br/>research community through the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC). Details of the<br/>project will be maintained at a project-specific web site<br/>http://www.tigr.org/tdb/e2k1/ath1/2010_cDNAs<br/>At the scientific level, this project will enhance the Arabidopsis genome annotation by increasing<br/>the total gene count in Arabidopsis by ~10% and will be a major step towards completing the<br/>identification and validation of all the genes in the first fully sequenced plant genome<br/>Arabidopsis thaliana. The cDNAs will be available as community resources. Integrated into the<br/>proposed research is a curriculum development component that will provide research experience<br/>to high school science educators in which they will work on the project and use project materials<br/>for the development of new curricular modules designed to provide exposure to fundamental<br/>concepts in plant genomics to high school students.
