Isolation and characterization of fruit-related genes in melon (Cucumis melo) using SSH and macroarray techniques

摘要

Genes that are uniquely expressed in the course of the development and ripening of melon (Cucumis melo) fruit were isolated using suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) and macroarray techniques. Subtractions were performed reciprocally between two developmental stages of the fruit as well as for flesh and rind. The libraries were printed on macroarrays and subsequently screened with cDNA subtracted populations for differentially expressed clones. Selected clones were subjected to sequence similarity search and to Northern blot analysis. The large fraction of fruit-related clones that were specifically expressed in the original developmental stage or fruit tissue demonstrates the efficiency of the method. This study is the first step towards the construction of a representative microarray for melon fruit.