title: An oligo-based microarray offers novel transcriptomic approaches for the analysis of pathogen resistance and fruit quality traits in melon (Cucumis melo L.).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Melon (Cucumis melo) is a horticultural specie of significant nutritional value, which belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, whose economic importance is second only to the Solanaceae. Its small genome of approx. 450 Mb coupled to the high genetic diversity has prompted the development of genetic tools in the last decade. However, the unprecedented existence of a transcriptomic approaches in melon, highlight the importance of designing new tools for high-throughput analysis of gene expression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We report the construction of an oligo-based microarray using a total of 17,510 unigenes derived from 33,418 high-quality melon ESTs. This chip is particularly enriched with genes that are expressed in fruit and during interaction with pathogens. Hybridizations for three independent experiments allowed the characterization of global gene expression profiles during fruit ripening, as well as in response to viral and fungal infections in plant cotyledons and roots, respectively. Microarray construction, statistical analyses and validation together with functional-enrichment analysis are presented in this study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The platform validation and enrichment analyses shown in our study indicate that this oligo-based microarray is amenable for future genetic and functional genomic studies of a wide range of experimental conditions in melon.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Genetics Department, Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB), Barcelona (08034), Spain. albert.mascarell@cid.csic.es
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mascarell-Creus
authors.forename: Joaquin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cañizares
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vilarrasa-Blasi
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mora-García
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blanca
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Ibeas
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saladié
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roig
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Deleu
authors.forename: Belén
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Picó-Silvent
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: López-Bigas
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Aranda
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garcia-Mas
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nuez
authors.forename: Pere
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Puigdomènech
authors.forename: Ana I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Caño-Delgado
mesh_terms: D028463:Cucumis melo / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D005638:Fruit / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015723:Gene Library; D017343:Genes, Plant; D018745:Genome, Plant; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant