Why do you think your paper is highly cited?

New methods for the global analysis of gene expression have recently been developed. We have used a cDNA microarray containing 150 Arabidopsis genes and have studied their expression in wounded leaves. It is one of the first papers describing the use of this technology for addressing biological questions in plants.

It illustrates the power of cDNA microarray technology for the study of plant defense.

  Is it a condensation of previous literature on the subject?

No, we used a new technology that allowed us to better understand how plants respond to mechanical wounding at the molecular level and which signaling pathways are involved.

  Could you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?

Wounding in multicellular eukaryotes results in dramatic changes in gene expression which contribute to tissue defense and repair. Using a cDNA microarray technique, we analyzed the timing, dynamics, and regulation of the expression of 150 genes in mechanically wounded leaves of Arabidopsis. Temporal accumulation of a group of transcripts was correlated with the appearance of oxylipin signals of the jasmonate family, pointing to an essential role for this signal in the control of gene expression during cell damage. The comparison of mechanical wounding and damage by feeding larvae of the cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae) resulted in very different transcript profiles, illustrating the fundamental differences in the plant's response to different biotic and abiotic stresses.

Philippe Reymond,
Group Leader,
Gene Expression Laboratory, Institute of Ecology,
University of Lausanne, Switzerland