Microgravity-related changes in gene expression after short-term exposure of Arabidopsis thaliana cell cultures.
Cell cultures of Arabidopsis thaliana (cv. Columbia) were used to screen for early alterations in gene expression as a response to altered gravitational fields. Genes of interest were selected from a larger group whose expression was altered under hypergravity (microarray study; M. Martzivanou and R. Hampp, Physiol. Plant. 118: 221-231, 2003). Transcriptional changes of these genes were studied within a time frame of up to 10 min of exposure to microgravity in a sounding-rocket experiment, to clinorotation (random positioning machine), and to hypergravity (8 g). We could identify a set of nine genes (mainly components of signaling chains) with increased transcript levels after about 6 min of exposure to microgravity. As clinorotation and hypergravity treatment did not alter the respective transcript amounts, we assume that the identified genes could be involved in a microgravity-related response.
Martzivanou
M
M
Physiological Ecology of Plants, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Federal Republic of Germany.
Babbick
M
M
Cogoli-Greuter
M
M
Hampp
R
R
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002498:Centrifugation; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018466:Gravity Sensing; D018471:Hypergravity; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012399:Rotation; D013997:Time Factors; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D018474:Weightlessness Simulation
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D018749:RNA, Plant