Identifying and mapping cDNA fragments related to rice photoperiod sensitive genic male sterility

The differentially expressed cDNA fragments have been obtained by differential screening with cDNA-RAPD technique in photoperiod sensitive genic male sterile (PGMS) rice. Some of them have been reassessed with Northern blot hybridization, from which a PGMS-related positive fragment, RPG43, has been identified. Further analysis on RPG43 with Southern blot and RAPD indicates that the fragment is a single-copy sequence and its mRNA has been processed after transcription. Sequence analysis reveals that RPG43 is 744 bp in length and contains a 60 bp region (from 126th to 185th bp) showing 72% homology to a human DNA sequence, pac pDJ-356d6, on chromosome 11. So it is a new sequence found in plant and its GenBank access number is AF126027. In addition, RPG43 has been mapped to a position 3.8 cM away from RFLP marker R1553 on chromosome 5 of rice.