Expression sequence tags analysis of Deschampsia antarctica Desv. from King George Island, Antarctica

Abstract

Deschampsia anatarctica Desv. is the only monocot that thrives in the rough conditions of the Antarctic region and represents an invaluable resource for the identification of genes associated with tolerance to various environmental pressures. In order to identify genes that are differentially regulated between greenhouse-grown and Antarctic field-grown plants, we initiated a detailed gene expression analysis. Antarctic plants were collected in the Barton Peninsula on King George Island, Maritime Antarctic (62°14´29´´S

58°44´18´´W) and greenhouse plants were used as controls. Two different cDNA libraries were constructed with these plants. A total of 2,112 cDNA clones was sequenced and grouped into 1,199 unigene clusters consisting of 243 consensus and 956 singleton sequences. Using similarity searches against several public databases, we constructed a functional classification of various categories of ESTs, such as genes related to response to stimulus as well as photosynthesis and metabolism. Real-time PCR analysis for several various stress responsive genes showed distinct regulation patterns by abiotic stresses like low temperature, high salt, and osmotic pressure, suggesting that these genes are involved in different responses for specific environmental factors. Although experiments have been carried out on a limited scale, this is the first report to employ ESTs to identify genes that appear to be related to environmental adaptation for flowering Antarctic plants.