Nature Genetics
27, 3 - 5 (2001)
doi:10.1038/83726
Arabidopsis arrivesJeffrey L Bennetzen
Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University
, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907,
USA.
maize@bilbo.bio.purdue.edu
Sequence analysis of the 125-Mb nuclear genome of the model plant
Arabidopsis thaliana has uncovered 25,498 genes, representing about 11,000
gene families. Most of the gene families are similar to those found in other
eukaryotes, but several hundred are unique to the plant kingdom. These include
over 800 genes, primarily involved in photosynthetic activities, that seem
to have been acquired from the cyanobacterial endosymbiont that evolved into
the chloroplast. Among the unusual properties of the Arabidopsis genome
are a fairly uniform gene density in all but centromeric and heterochromatic
regions, numerous small and large genomic duplications, and other types of
rearrangement. The genomic sequence now provides the raw material for comprehensive
analyses of gene function in plants, and will provide powerful opportunities
to compare and contrast with the genetic complements of animals, fungi, prokaryotes
and other plant species.
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