Empirical Analysis of Transcriptional Activity in the Arabidopsis Genome

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 301; no. 5646; pp. 842 - 846
• Main Authors: Yamada, K, Lim, J, Dale, J M, Chen, H, Shinn, P, Palm, C J, Southwick, A M, Wu, H C, Kim, C, Nguyen, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 31.10.2003
• ISSN: 0036-8075

Functional analysis of a genome requires accurate gene structure information and a complete gene inventory. A dual experimental strategy was used to verify and correct the initial genome sequence annotation of the reference plant Arabidopsis. Sequencing full-length cDNAs and hybridizations using RNA populations from various tissues to a set of high-density oligonucleotide arrays spanning the entire genome allowed the accurate annotation of thousands of gene structures. We identified 5817 novel transcription units, including a substantial amount of antisense gene transcription, and 40 genes within the genetically defined centromeres. This approach resulted in completion of [~]30 percent of the Arabidopsis ORFeome as a resource for global functional experimentation of the plant proteome.