Radiation-induced changes in gene expression in the silkworm revealed by serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE).

ABSTRACT

Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) was used to examine the profile of expressed genes during embryonic development in the domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori, after irradiation with Cobalt-60. A comparison of the SAGE sequence tags derived from irradiated embryos with those from normal embryos revealed 673 differentially expressed genes (P < 0.01 and at least three folds change). Of these, 292 genes were highly expressed in normal embryos and 381 genes were highly expressed in irradiated embryos. These results provide valuable information for understanding the mechanisms of radiation-induced changes in gene expression. In addition, it was noted that the generation of longer cDNA fragments from SAGE tags is an efficient way to identify genes, thereby facilitating the analysis of large numbers of unknown genes.