Working group session:
Structural Genomics
Presentation type:
oral
Authors:
Park, Wonkeun; Scheffler, Brain E.; Bauer, Philip J.; Bowman, Megan; Campbell, B. Todd
Presenter:
Park, Wonkeun
Correspondent:
Campbell, B. Todd
Abstract:
Aquaporins function mainly as water transport channel proteins that facilitate water movement across intracellular and intercellular membranes in most of living organisms. Plant aquaporins belong to a multi-gene family and are commonly categorized into 5 subfamilies according to sequence similarity. Recently, we identified large numbers of aquaporin genes using cloning strategies and homology searches in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). This finding prompted us to investigate the sub-genomic origin of aquaporins in conjunction with the effort to identify allele-specific SNP markers among highly homeologous aquaporin genes in the complicated upland cotton genome. For this purpose, we are using a number of approaches to compare the sequence of aquaporin genes in genomes representing cultivated tetraploid cotton species and their ancestral diploid species. Based on our analysis of the draft D-genome sequence, our results show that several close members of aquaporins are clustered in specific chromosomes; this genomic feature is conserved among genomes of higher plants. Understanding the structural genomic organization of aquaporin genes in tetraploid cotton will facilitate efforts to deploy them in cotton breeding programs.