FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS IN OXIDATIVE STRESS RESPONSE OF ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA

SCARPECI TE; ZANOR MI; MÜLLER-RÖBER B; CARRILLO N; VALLE EM

Bariloche

Congreso; SAIB; 2003

Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (SAIB)

Oxidative stress, arising from an imbalance in the generation and removal of reactive oxygen species (ROS), is a challenge faced by all aerobic organisms. In this study we used the GeneChip® technology in order to monitor gene expression of the entire genome of A. thaliana (24.000 genes) under oxidative stress conditions. We identified 621 genes with expression levels two- fold greater under ROS treatment than in the control samples. Expression profiles of several genes were confirmed by Northern blot analysis. Most of the identified genes do not have an obvious direct role in oxidative stress and there are a considerable number of genes with unknown function. These gene products can be classified into two groups. The first group includes proteins that function or are probably functional in stress tolerance. The second group contains regulatory proteins, that is, protein factors involved in regulation of signal transduction and gene expression related to general stress responses. A subset of genes that belong to both groups were considered to be interesting candidates for further functional analysis and we are currently investigating their roles in ROS response.