| OBSERVATION'S | Arabidopsis genes have counterparts in plants of much greater economic importance, such as wheat, corn, rice, cotton & soybeans, & some correspond to human genes as well |
| SUBJECT | The "Arabidopsis Genome Initiative", an international consortium of researchers from USA, Europe & Japan, has reported the first complete genome of a plant - that of thale cress, "Arabidopsis thaliana", a weed in the mustard family. The team began sequencing Arabidopsis in 1996, reported the seq. of chromosomes 2 & 4 last year, & has now completed the plant's other 3 chromosomes (1,3 & 5). |
| UPDATE | 12.00 |
| USES | Potential applications of the findings include the development of plants that grow faster & larger, have better resistance to disease, or are engineered to produce desired chemicals |
| LITERATURE REF. |
Nature [408, p. 796, 816, 820, 823 (2000)] Science [290, p. 2105, 2110, 2114 (2000)] |
|
Want more information ? Interested in the hidden information ? Click here and do your request. |