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Summary: A full-length cDNA, BcMF11, has been cloned from Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis Makino) using rapid amplification of the cDNA ends (RACE) based on a pollen-specific cDNA fragment (DN237921). The BcMF11 cDNA has a total length of 828bp with poly (A) tail. Analysis of the sequence demonstrated that BcMF11 is a novel non-coding RNA which has no prominent open reading frame (ORF) or coding capacity. No significant similarities were observed between BcMF11 and previously published sequences in GenBank. Transcription analysis indicated that BcMF11 is a novel pollen-specific ncRNA and may be involved in the pollen development of Chinese cabbage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Tomato Cf genes confer resistance to the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum. Although the Cf-4 and Cf-9 proteins are very similar, the Cf-4- and Cf-9-dependent hypersensitive responses (HRs) are distinct in cell death pattern, intensity and sensitivity to environmental conditions. To investigate the mechanism leading to these differences, comparative transcript profiling of Avr4/Cf-4- and Avr9/Cf-9-dependent defence gene expression was performed. To do this, cDNA-AFLP analysis was conducted on Avr/Cf tomato seedlings undergoing early HR. Both Avr4/Cf-4 and Avr9/Cf-9 signalling elicited the same spectrum of genes, referred to here as Avr/Cf-elicited (ACE) genes. Of approximately 25 000 transcript-derived fragments (TDFs), 367 (1.5%) showed significant differential expression between HR(+) and HR(-) seedlings (either Avr4/Cf-4- or Avr9/Cf-9-dependent). However, 42.8% of the ACE TDFs (157/367 in total) showed quantitatively different expression in the two types of HR(+) seedlings. The majority of these (135/157, 86.0%) displayed significantly greater differential expression (either induced or repressed) in Avr4/Cf-4 HR(+) seedlings than in Avr9/Cf-9 HR(+) seedlings. Our results are consistent with the previous observation that Avr4/Cf-4-dependent HR is more severe than Avr9/Cf-9-dependent HR, and indicate that the distinction between Avr4/Cf-4- and Avr9/Cf-9-dependent HR is most probably a result of events upstream of the defence responses. Sequencing of 189 ACE fragments identified genes associated with: defence and resistance (33.3%), signal transduction (7.4%), HR and cell death (5.3%), transcriptional regulation and post-transcriptional modification (4.3%). Expression data revealed that defence response, respiration and biological oxidation are strongly induced while photosynthesis is severely repressed in the HR(+) seedlings.