Abstract
Tobacco has served as a useful material in plant physiology and biochemistry. Despite these experimental advantages, molecular and genomic tools have not been well established in this plant. Here, we report construction of partially normalized cDNA library from root and leaf tissue of a diploid tobacco species, Nicotiana sylvestris, and preparation of cDNA micro-array chips. Single-pass sequences were obtained from a total of approximately 13,000 cDNA clones and were assembled into approximately 6,500 non-redundant cDNA groups. Database searches on nuclear sequences of Nicotiana species in Genbank revealed that these cDNA groups represent approximately 3,500 unique tobacco genes. The ESTs are used to prepare cDNA micro-array chips. We are analyzing gene expression patterns in relation to nicotine biosynthesis using these chips.
