Transcriptome analysis of barley anthers: effect of mannitol treatment in microspore embryogenesis

Carbohydrate starvation is an efficient stress treatment for induction of microspore embryogenesis. Transcriptome analysis of anthers response to mannitol treatment using the 22k Barley1 GeneChip revealed large changes in gene expression. Statistical analysis and filtering for 4-fold or greater changes resulted in 2,673 genes, of which 887 were up-regulated and 1,786 down-regulated. Great differences in some metabolic pathways, accompanied by a multi-dimensional stress response were found. Analysis of transcription factors showed that most of the down-regulated transcription factors were related to growth and development, and the up-regulated with abiotic and biotic stress responses and changes in developmental programs. Interestingly, the expression of most cell cycle related genes did not change significantly. Transcriptome analysis provided a successful approach to identify genes involved in mannitol treatment, essential for triggering microspore embryogenesis.