Large-scale Sequencing of Meiosis-associated Genes from a cDNA Library of Lily Microsporocytes.

Lily, Lilium longiflorum has been used to study meiosis for advantages of the synchronous development among sporogenous cells within an anther. In order to identify genes expressed at meiosis, we carried out random sequencing of a cDNA library which represented the mRNAs from microsporocytes of L. longiflorum at the zygotene stage of meiotic prophase. To avoid redundancy of cDNA clones and to obtain novel sequence information efficiently, we exploited a simple and versatile “self-hybridization” strategy. Single-run DNA sequence data were obtained from 418 cDNA clones. Deduced amino acid sequences of 171 cDNA clones, which comprised 41% of the selected cDNA clones, showed significant similarity to amino acid sequences registered in the database. These included cDNA sequences for previously identified meiosis-associated genes. However, 59% of the selected clones showed no significant homology to known gene products.