Transcriptomes of the developing seeds of high-oleate and high-linoleate strains of safflower (
Carthamus tinctorius) were compared using a fluorescent differential display technique. Two cDNA fragments (O1-1 and O2-3) were identified as the bands originated from the genes highly or specifically expressed in the developing seeds of the high-oleate safflower. A cDNA clone,
CTOS-1, encoding a novel protein with an isoprenoid binding site at the C-terminus was isolated by screening a cDNA library constructed from the developing seeds of high-oleate safflower using the O2-3 fragment as a probe. Northern blot analysis indicated that
CTOS-1 gene expresses only in the developing seeds of the high-oleate safflower. The transcript cannot be detected either in the developing seeds of the high-linoleate safflower nor in the leaves, stems and flower buds of the two strains. Southern blot analysis using the
CTOS-1 cDNA as a probe indicated the presence of restriction fragment length polymorphism between the high-oleate and high-linoleate strains.
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