Differential gene expression in egg cells and zygotes suggests that the transcriptome is restructed before the first zygotic division in tobacco.
We applied suppression subtractive hybridization and mirror orientation selection to compare gene expression profiles of isolated Nicotiana tabacum cv SR1 zygotes and egg cells. Our results revealed that many differentially expressed genes in zygotes were transcribed de novo after fertilization. Some of these genes are critical to zygote polarity and pattern formation during early embryogenesis. This suggests that the transcriptome is restructed in zygote and that the maternal-to-zygotic transition happens before the first zygotic division, which is much earlier in higher plants than in animals. The expressed sequence tags used in this study provide a valuable resource for future research on fertilization and early embryogenesis.
Ning
Jue
J
Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Plant Developmental Biology, College of Life Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
Peng
Xiong-Bo
XB
Qu
Liang-Huan
LH
Xin
Hai-Ping
HP
Yan
Ting-Ting
TT
Sun
Mengxiang
M
D019521:Body Patterning; D002455:Cell Division; D016764:Cell Polarity; D047108:Embryonic Development; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D009865:Oocytes; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015053:Zygote