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NEWS SEARCH
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Scientists
complete sequencing of first plant genome
13
Dec 2000
By
Catherine Zandonella, Media Relations
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Arabidopsis
thalania |
In a major
step for plant biology and agricultural science, scientists
have completed the sequencing of the first plant genome, that
of a mustard weed known as Arabidopsis thalania. The
announcement, published Thursday, Dec. 14, in the journal
Nature, marks the completion of a five-year effort
that included key contributions from plant molecular biologist
Athanasios Theologis, an adjunct professor in the Department
of Plant & Microbial Biology at the University of California,
Berkeley, and a senior scientist at the UC Berkeley/USDA Agricultural
Research Service Plant Gene Expression Center in Albany, Calif.
Commonly
known as mouse-ear cress or thale cress, Arabidopsis thaliana
serves as a model genetic organism for research aimed at producing
healthier food that is easier to grow. Arabidopsis thaliana
is favored by researchers because it has a relatively small
genome with only five chromosomes and roughly 25,000 genes
- a third the amount of DNA found in rice. Completion of the
genome will give scientists a road map to the genes involved
in a plant's ability to live through drought, fight off disease
and avoid predators.
Together
with three collaborating institutes, Theologis and his team
of 15 researchers deciphered the genetic sequence of the largest
of the five chromosomes, Chromosome 1, which represents a
quarter of the entire genome. Other members of the consortium
to sequence Chromosome 1 include the Stanford Genome Technology
Center led by Ronald Davis, the Arabidopsis thaliana
Genome Center at the University of Pennsylvania led by Joseph
Ecker (now at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif.) and
The Institute for Genomic Research in Rockville, Md., led
by Claire Fraser. The four groups were part of an international
Arabidopsis genome sequencing effort known as the Arabidopsis
Genome Initiative (AGI), composed of laboratories from the
United States, the European Union and Japan. The U.S. portion
of the project was funded by the National Science Foundation.
###
Resources:
The
event will be webcast
live starting about 2 p.m. EST (13 DEC 2000). At
that time, a streaming
video about the Arabidopsis genome sequence will be online.
Links:
Nature
National
Science Foundation
Arabidopsis
Genome Initiative
Plant
Gene Expression Center
.
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