Abstract
Temperate species have adapted to seasonal variation in temperature by adjusting their metabolism during autumn, increasing their content of a range of cryoprotective compounds to maximize their cold tolerance. We have compared the transcriptional profiles in the progress of cold acclimatization in crowns and leaves of winter barley.
Using Affymetrix chips and GeneSpring software 6197 differentially expressed genes were identified in leaves comparisons and 2370 were significantly modulated in crowns. Moreover, two groups of genes that were uniquely expressed in leaf or crown tissue were distinguished.
The three cluster analyses were carried out on the list of common differentially expressed genes, on the crown specific modulated genes and on the leaf specific modulated genes. Each cluster was characterized by a typical course and functional categories determined by MIPS database.
Freezing tests of both leaves and crowns were provided.