Use of mRNA-seq to discriminate contributions to the transcriptome from the constituent genomes of the polyploid crop species Brassica napus

摘要

BackgroundPolyploidy often results in considerable changes in gene expression, both immediately and over evolutionary time. New phenotypes often arise with polyploid formation and may contribute to the fitness of polyploids in nature or their selection for use in agriculture. Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is widely used to study the process of polyploidy both in artificially resynthesised and natural forms. mRNA-Seq, a recently developed approach to transcriptome profiling using deep-sequencing technologies is an alternative to microarrays for the study of gene expression in a polyploid.