The development and utilization of EST (Expressed Sequence Tag) resources in the diploid strawberry model system

Abstract

Enhancement of genomic resources is needed for the cultivated octoploid strawberry Fragaria x ananassa (2n=8x=56). A diploid (2n=2x=14) relative, Fragaria vesca, has been used as a model system for strawberry genomics because of its small (~200 Mb) basic genome size, ancestry to the octoploid strawberries and availability of inbred lines, among other favorable features. In this study, a cDNA library was constructed from developing flower buds of Fragaria vesca ssp. vesca cv. \u27Yellow Wonder\u27. A cDNA library of 7680 clones was created using the CLONTECH SMART cDNA Library Construction kit. Sequencing and bioinformatic analyses of 3298 clones resulted in 2717 quality Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) and 1910 unigenes. ESTs appear in GenBank as accession numbers DV438013--DV440729. Of these sequences, approximately 600 did not have homology to sequences in any of the databases used for sequence similarity searches. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)