Because Arabidopsis is a widely studied model organism, its sequence will enable scientists to study genes that control basic plant functions. This knowledge will be useful for improving important crops such as wheat, corn and soybeans. It also will aid the ongoing effort to identify genes in the human sequence. The milestone is reported in the Dec. 14 issue of Nature . The Arabidopsis Genome Initiative, an international consortium, performed the research.
All data are freely available on the Internet.
Under the direction of Richard K. Wilson, Ph.D., associate professor of genetics, the School of Medicine's Genome Sequencing Center played a two-part role in the project. During the early stage, it constructed a genome map that was used by all the sequencing centers. In collaboration with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York State and the John Innis Centre in the United Kingdom, it then sequenced chromosomes 4 and 5. Arabidopsis has five chromosomes in all. Arabidopsis is a small plant that grows readily in the laboratory.