20th Annual Student Research Conference
Science
Bioinformatic, Expression and DNA Sequence Diversity Characterization of Two Shoot Apical Meristem Expressed Genes
Kayleigh A. Swaggart*, Cheryl C. Wong, Heath A. Smith, and Kelsey M. Aurand
Dr. Diane Janick-Buckner and Dr. Brent Buckner, Faculty Mentors
The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is the source of all above-ground plant tissues. Two SAM expressed genes (SEGs) were selected for further bioinformatic, expression and nucleotide diversity analyses. These analyses revealed that SEG1 exhibited no similarity to any known protein or functional motif, while InterProScan of SEG2 demonstrated a region with weak similarity to a cyclin F-box domain. RT-PCR was performed on mRNA isolated from thirteen different maize tissues. This study indicated that SEG1 and SEG2 were expressed in the majority of these tissues. Approximately 650 bp regions of both SEG1 and SEG2 were amplified and sequenced from seven North American inbreds, five New Mexican open-pollinated landraces, five Mexican open-pollinated landraces and nine accessions of teosinte. The nucleotide diversity among the maize and teosinte lines is consistent with neutral evolution at both of these loci.
Keywords: maize, SAM, bioinformatic, nucleotide diversity, evolution, gene, expression, protein
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 7-8
Location: OP Lobby
Time: 4:15 pm