RIKEN Arabidopsis full-length (RAFL) cDNA and its applications for expression profiling under abiotic stress conditions

Full-length cDNAs are essential for the correct annotation of genomic sequences and for the functional analysis of genes and their products. 155 144 RIKEN Arabidopsis full-length (RAFL) cDNA clones were isolated. The 3'-end expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of all 155 144 RAFL cDNAs were clustered into 14 668 non-redundant cDNA groups, about 60% of predicted genes. The sequence database of the RAFL cDNAs is useful for promoter analysis and the correct annotation of predicted transcription units and gene products. Recently, cDNA microarray analysis has been developed for quantitative analysis of global and simultaneous analysis of expression profiles. RAFL cDNA microarrays were prepared, containing independent full-length cDNA groups for analysing the expression profiles of genes under various stress- and hormone-treatment conditions and in various mutants and transgenic plants. In this review, recent progress on transcriptome analysis using the RAFL cDNA microarray is highlighted.