Yale Researchers Release Transcriptome of 40 Rice Cell Types

Researchers at the Yale University have published a cellular atlas of genetic activity in rice that documents with unprecedented detail how and when genes are turned on or off. The atlas is the product of a 5-year, mammoth project. It is composed of cell-specific transcriptomes for 40 specific cell types. Transcriptome refers to the set of all messenger RNA transcripts produced in a cell. It provides information on the relative activity of each of rice’s 30,000 genes for a particular cell type. The transcriptomes released in this study permit the comparison of any gene’s activity among each of 40 cell types, including different stages of the development of roots, shoots and embryos.

“All crops will benefit from knowledge and tools derived from the rice atlas,’’ said Timothy Nelson, Yale professor and senior author of the study. “For instance, scientists hope to find networks of genes responsible for photosynthesis and those that could lead to production of food and biomass for uses such as alternate energy.”

Read the complete article at http://opa.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=6294 The complete paper published by Nature Genetics is available to subscribers at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng.282