Abstract
The moss Physcomitrella patens is a newly established model plant and widely used for characterization of gene function by reverse genetics. This moss enables target gene disruption in both nuclear and chloroplast genomes. We applied DNA microarray technology to the P. patens plastid genome for large-scale analysis of the transcripts. A microarray was constructed, containing 108 DNA fragments, to detect all annotated plastid genes. We analyzed the transcript profile in the tRNA gene, trnR-CCG, knockout transformant and confirmed the previous results that rbcL and psaI transcripts accumulated at the similar levels to wild-type, and accD transcript was elevated in the trnR-CCG knockout moss. In addition, the plastid DNA microarray revealed that most plastid genes are expressed at a similar level in wild type and the transformant mosses. This further indicates that trnR-CCG is not essential for expression of the protein-coding genes in plastids.
