Functional genomics of maize submergence tolerance and cloning of the related gene Sicyp51

In this study, SSH (Suppression Subtractive Hybridization) and cDNA microarray were used to identify genes associated with waterlogging response of maize roots. Mo17 and Hz32 are two maize inbred lines with differential tolerance to hypoxia. Seedlings of the inbred lines with two leaves were submerged in hypoxia buffer. SSH libraries were constructed with cDNA samples from roots. Both forward and reverse subtractions were performed for each inbred line, and 105 positive clones induced by hypoxia were selected by differential screening. The treated and control message RNA were hybridized with the cDNA microarray of Mo17, sequentially, 57 of 3-fold differentially expressed clones were obtained. A total of 162 positive clones were all sequenced. Bioinformatics analysis showed these positive clones represent 85 TUGs, including genes involved in several biochemistry pathways, such as glycolysis, protection, signal transduction, cell construction and energy metabolism and 41 EST with unknown function. Comparison between Mo17 and Hz32 indicates that genes related to hypoxia tolerance have different expression patterns in submerged roots. Several positive clones' expression patterns were revealed by Northern or RT-PCR, and a new gene (Sicyp51), which may contribute to hypoxia tolerance, was identified.