Construction and classification of a cDNA library from Miscanthus sinenesis (Eulalia) treated with UV-B.

The establishment of EST database is important to study classification and function of gene groups in Miscanthus. We isolated total RNA at 48 h after UV-B treatment to develop a gene expression profile of the entire Miscanthus plant (except for the root). A cDNA library was prepared from mature mRNAs, and 1000 cDNA clones were partially sequenced using a DNA sequence kit (BigDye TM Terminator Cycle Sequencing Ready Reaction mixture). A total of 827 unigenes, including 72 contigs and 755 singletons, were identified after assembly of the expressed sequence tags (ESTs). To analyze the ESTs from the UV-induced cDNA library, we grouped the sequences and classifications based on the best homology match of BLASTX searches against various plant protein sequences. The functional classification sequences belonged to 15 categories including metabolism, energy, cell cycle, transcription, protein synthesis, protein fate, protein with binding function, regulation of metabolism and protein function, cell transport, signal transduction, cell defense, interaction with the environment, cell fate, biogenesis of cellular components, and subcellular localization, which were considered to be of interest for UV-response signaling.