Transcript Arabidopsis Thaliana

Arabidopsis thaliana
The Model Plant for
Genetic Engineering
By Mike Douglas
and Joanna Naymark
Why Is Arabidopsis a
Model Plant?

Relative genetic simplicity

Convenience and abundance

Susceptibility to T-DNA insertions

Basic similarities to other crops
Other Model Organisms
Arabidopsis Genome

Small genome composed of approximately
25,700 genes
 5 chromosomes
 Genome mapping
project completed
due to internationally
coordinated program
Convenience

Easy to grow

Small plant size means tens of thousands
can be grown at a time

6-8 weeks from seeds to seeds

Massive seed production (potential up to
10,000 seeds per plant)

Ability of Arabidopsis thaliana to self-fertilize
Making Knockout Plants
 Easily susceptible to Agrobacterium
which contain Ti plasmids, the
vehicles for T-DNA insertion
 Easy to establish many knockout lines
in short amount of time
Significance of Arabidopsis
in Plant Genetics
 Basic life processes similar to those of
more complex crop plants such as
corn, soybean, and wheat
 It can be assumed that the basic set
of genes that control these processes
are the same, making findings
applicable to other species
Ultimate goals
 Discoveries applicable in genetic
engineering of crop varieties with
disease and insect resistance, and
other enhanced production qualities
*Startling fact: In the next 50 years, we
will need to produce more food than in
the whole of human history and do it on
the same or less amount of arable land.
Summary
 Arabidopsis is a useful model plant
 Simple genome
 Easy maintenance and space-efficient
 Applicable similarities with other plants
 Potential to help increase food
production quantity and quality to
feed a growing world population