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TOUCH-INDUCED GENE EXPRESSION IN SOYBEAN. A.L. Santone, K.G. Raghothama and C.A. Mitchell.  Dept. of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

   A growth system for isolating genes involved in cell expansion has been devised using etiolated soybean (Glycine max L. Merr. cv. Century 84) seedlings. Using an EST as a probe for Northern blots, a soy gene having homology to TCH3 of Arabidopsis has been shown to be up-regulated as early as 15 minutes after thigmic stimulation. The use of wind-shield/ humidification chambers has helped reduce spurious expression of the TCH3 homologue in highly sensitive control seedlings, thus improving the sensitivity of the system to detect changes in gene expression induced by controlled mechanical stress. Concurrently underway is a project utilizing cDNA-AFLP to discover novel touch-regulated genes in soybean.

(Supported in part by NASA: NAG2-1389, NGT 2-52285)

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