Arabidopsis (rockcress) is a genus in the family
Brassicaceae. They are small
flowering plants related to
cabbage and
mustard. This genus is of great interest since it contains
thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), one of the
model organisms used for studying plant biology and the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced. Changes in thale cress are easily observed, making it a very useful model.
Status
Currently, the genus Arabidopsis has nine species and a further eight subspecies recognised. This delimitation is quite recent and is based on morphological and molecular phylogenies by O'Kane and Al-Shehbaz[1][2] and others.
Their findings confirm the species formerly included in Arabidopsis made it
polyphyletic. The most recent reclassification moves two species previously placed in Cardaminopsis and Hylandra and three species of Arabis into Arabidopsis, but excludes 50 that have been moved into the new genera Beringia,
Crucihimalaya,
Ianhedgea,
Olimarabidopsis, and Pseudoarabidopsis.
All of the species in Arabidopsis are indigenous to
Europe, while two of the species have broad ranges also extending into
North America and
Asia.
In the last two decades, Arabidopsis thaliana has gained much interest from the scientific community as a
model organism for research on numerous aspects of plant biology.
The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) is a curated online information source for Arabidopsis thaliana genetic and molecular biology research, and The Arabidopsis Book[3] is an online compilation of invited chapters on Arabidopsis thaliana biology. (Note that as of 2013 no further chapters will be published.) In Europe, the model organism resource centre for Arabidopsis thalianagermplasm,
bioinformatics and
molecular biology resources (including
GeneChips) is the
Nottingham Arabidopsis Stock Centre (NASC) whilst in North America
germplasm services are provided by the
Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC) based at
Ohio State University. The ordering system for ABRC was incorporated into the TAIR database in June 2001 whilst NASC has always (since 1991) hosted its own ordering system and genome browser.
In 1982, the crew of the
SovietSalyut 7 space station grew some Arabidopsis, thus becoming the first plants to flower and produce
seeds in space. They had a life span of 40 days.[4]Arabidopsis thaliana seeds were taken to the Moon on the
Chang'e 4 lander in 2019, as part of a student experiment. As of May 2022 Arabidopsis thaliana has successfully been grown in samples of lunar soil.[5]
Arabidopsis is quite similar to the Boechera genus.
A. arenosa subsp. arenosa (Europe: native in Austria, Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, NE France, Germany, Hungary, N Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Ukraine; naturalized in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia and W Siberia, and Sweden; absent in Albania, Greece, C and S Italy, and Turkey)
A. arenosa subsp. borbasii (E Belgium, Czech Republic, NE France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine, doubtfully occurring in Denmark)
A. halleri subsp. halleri (Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, N and C Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and S Ukraine. Probably introduced in N France and extinct in Belgium)
A. halleri subsp. ovirensis (Wulfen) (Albania, Austria, NE Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, SW Ukraine, Yugoslavia)
A. halleri subsp. gemmifera (
Matsumura) (Russian Far East, northeastern China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan)
A. lyrata subsp. lyrata (NE European Russia, Alaska, Canada (Ontario west into British Columbia), and southeastern and central United States (Vermont south into northern
Georgia and Mississippi northward into
Missouri and Minnesota))
A. lyrata subsp. petraea (Linnaeus) O'Kane & Al-Shehbaz (Austria, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, N. Italy, Norway, Russia (NW Russia, Siberia and Far East), Scotland, Sweden, Ukraine, boreal North America (Alaska and
Yukon). Apparently extinct in Poland)
A. lyrata subsp. kamchatica (Fischer ex D.C.) O'Kane & Al-Shehbaz (boreal Alaska, Canada (Yukon, Mackenzie District, British Columbia, northern Saskatchewan), Aleutian Islands, eastern Siberia, the Russian Far East, Korea, northern China, Japan and Taiwan)
A. thaliana is n=5[7] and the DNA sequencing of this species was completed in 2001. A. lyrata has n=8 but some subspecies or populations are tetraploid.[8] Various subspecies A. arenosa have n=8 but can be either 2n (diploid) or 4n (tetraploid).[9]A. suecica is n=13 (5+8) and is an
amphidiploid species originated through hybridization between A. thaliana and diploid A. arenosa.[10]
A. neglecta is n=8, as are the various subspecies of A. halleri.[9]
As of 2005, A. cebennensis, A. croatica and A. pedemontana have not been investigated cytologically.
^Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A.; O'Kane Jr, Steve L. (2002). "Taxonomy and Phylogeny of Arabidopsis (Brassicaceae)". The Arabidopsis Book. Volume 1. Vol. 1. The American Society of Plant Biologists. pp. e0001.
doi:
10.1199/tab.0001.
PMC3243115.
PMID22303187. {{
cite book}}: |journal= ignored (
help)
^Dart, Sara; Kron, Paul; Mable, Barbara K (2004). "Characterizing polyploidy in Arabidopsis lyrata using chromosome counts and flow cytometry". Canadian Journal of Botany. 82 (2): 185.
doi:
10.1139/b03-134.
O'Kane Jr, S. L., i Al-Shehbaz, I. A. (1997). A synopsis of Arabidopsis (Brassicaceae): Novon 7: 323–327.
O'Kane Jr, S. L., i Al-Shehbaz, I. A. (2003). Phylogenetic position and generic limits of Arabidopsis (Brassicaceae) based on sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA: Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 90 (4): 603–612.