ABSTRACT. Eruca vesicaria subsp sativa is one of the most tolerant Cruciferae species to drought, and dehydration-responsive elementbinding protein 2A (DREB2A) is involved in responses to salinity, heat, and particularly drought. In this study, a gene encoding EvDREB2A was cloned and characterized in E. vesicaria subsp sativa. The fulllength EvDREB2A cDNA sequence contained a 388-bp 5'-untranslated region (UTR), a 348-bp 3'-UTR, and a 1002-bp open reading frame that encoded 334 amino acid residues. The theoretical isoelectric point of the EvDREB2A protein was 4.80 and the molecular weight was 37.64 kDa. The genomic sequence of EvDREB2A contained no introns. Analysis using SMART indicated that EvDREB2A contains a conserved AP2 domain, similar to other plant DREBs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that EvDREB2A and DREB2As from Brassica rapa, Eutrema salsugineum, Arabidopsis thaliana, Arabidopsis lyrata, and Arachis hypogaea formed a small subgroup, which clustered with DREB2Bs from A. lyrata, A. thaliana, Camelina sativa, and B. rapa to form a larger subgroup. EvDREB2A is most closely related to B. rapa DREB2A, followed by DREB2As from E. salsugineum, A. thaliana, A. hypogaea, and A. lyrata. A quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction indicated that EvDREB2A expression was highest in the leaves, followed by the roots and hypocotyls, and was lowest in the flower buds. EvDREB2A could be used to improve drought tolerance in crops.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this study was to identify genomic aberrations in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by using laser capture microdissection (LCM) combined with microarray analysis. Samples were procured by LCM from HCC and patient-matched normal liver tissue surgically resected from 4 patients. RNA was isolated from the samples and reverse transcribed into cDNA. After 2-cycle linear amplification and 2-color fluorescent labeling, the cRNA was hybridized onto a whole genome microarray. All genes expressed in the normal and HCC samples were counted and analyzed. Differentially expressed genes were identified and the top 10 up and downregulated genes (totally 20 genes) were further evaluated. LCM was able to accurately capture 50-200 cells from HCC and control tissues. The microarray spectrum showed satisfactory detection of HCC-enriched genes. A total of 1361 differentially expressed genes were identified, among which, 607 were upregulated and 754 were downregulated. Among the top 20 up and downregulated genes, 4 genes had not been documented in the literature as being differentially expressed in any tumors. Thus, LCM is an effective approach for identifying aberrantly expressed genes in HCC, and may lead to the discovery of biomarkers for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.