Fig. 6. RNA gel blot analysis showing steady state transcript levels of a cold acclimation-responsive gene in roots of six alfalfa cultivars and five experimental germplasms in October (H1) and December (H2). Twenty micrograms of total RNA was loaded per lane and blots were hybridized with a ³²P-labeled cold acclimation-responsive cDNA (bN-1 12a3) whose steady state transcript levels were previously shown to be high in winter hardy cultivars. The alfalfa cultivars and germplasms are listed in order of decreasing fall dormancy and include: 98-141 (141); 98-157 (157); Vernal (Ver); 98-148 (148); Dart; 98-142 (142); G2852 (G28); 98-132 (132); Archer (Arc); Sutter (Sut); CUF 101 (CUF). The lower panel is an ethidium bromide stained gel showing RNA loading levels.