Methods In Arabidopsis Research

One of the ways to make consistent progress in a particular field of biology consists in choosing a good model system on which to focus the experimental efforts of the scientific community. It has taken a long time for scientists interested in various aspects of the life of plants to reach some sort of consensus. With the advent and impact of molecular biology, the small weed Arabidopsis is now the object of rapidly growing scientific attention. Since it is reasonable to assume that the general molecular mechanisms that are responsible for the physiological, cellular and biochemical properties of plants will be essentially conserved in all plants, it follows that these mechanisms should also operate in Arabidopsis and hence that its genome should contain most of the genes that we need to know about if we want to understand the genetic determination of the life processes in plants. Arabidopsis has a small genome and well documented genetic studies are available. It is easy to grow in large numbers and mutants defining important genetically controlled mechanisms are either available, or can readily be obtained. Various methods to introduce and express isolated homologous or heterologous genes are available. It is therefore realistic and desirable to aim at exploring the genome of this plant in very great detail. As will be illustrated in this book all the elements for such a grand strategy are in place. More and more scientists are therefore willing to accept the obvious and very real practical disadvantages resulting from its small size when experiments call for the isolation of proteins, membranes, subcellular fractions etc, in order to benefit from its extraordinary experimental advantages as a model system in molecular genetics. One can safely predict that in the next decade studies with Arabidopsis will provide major breakthroughs in our understanding of most aspects of plant physiology and developmental biology. The importance of this knowledge for plant breeding and therefore for a sustainable highly productive agriculture cannot be overestimated. We therefore expect that this book will provide valuable guidelines to all those who are planning experiments aimed at understanding various aspects of plant growth, productivity and interactions with the environment. The book offers a wealth of methodical and theoretical information as well as valuable references. It should be of use to students, teachers, as well as advanced researchers and those breeders who want to use molecular techniques in breeding.

Table of Contents:
A Heuristic Glance at the Past of Arabidopsis Genetics (G P Redei); Classical Mutagenesis (G P Redei & C Koncz); Genetic Analysis (M Koornneef & P Stam); Introduction to the Arabidopsis Genome (E M Meyerowitz); Chromosome Walking in Arabidopsis Thaliana Using Yeast Artificial Chromosomes (S I Gibson & C Somerville); Genetic and Physical Linkage of the Arabidopsis Genome: Methods for Anchoring Yeast Artificial Chromosomes. (E Matallana, C J Bell, P J Dunn, M Lu & J R Ecker); Genetic Linkage of the Arabidopsis Genome: Methods for Mapping with Recombinant Inbreds and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) (R S Reiter, R M Young & P A Scolnik); Genome Mapping in Arabidopsis (B M Hauge & H M Goodman); T-DNA Transformation and Insertion Mutagenesis (C Koncz, J Schell & G P Redei); T-DNA Insertion Mutagenesis in Arabidopsis: Seed Infection/Transformation (K A Feldmann); Transposon Tagging in Arabidopsis (G Coupland); Protoplast Transformation and Methods to Create Specific Mutants in Arabidopsis Thaliana (T Altmann, B Damm, U Halfter, L Willmitzer & P-C Morris); Cloning Arabidopsis Genes by Genomic Subtraction (T-P Sun, D Straus & F M Ausubel,); Gene Isolation with the Polymerase Chain Reaction (A Gasch, T Aoyama, R Foster & N-H Chua); Microsequence Analysis of Arabidopsis Proteins Separated by Two-Dimensional Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis: A Direct Linkage of Proteins and Genes (G Bauw, M Van Montagu & D Inze); Analysis of Protein/DNA Interactions (R Foster, A Gasch, S Kay & N-H Chua ); Genetic Definition of Loci Involved in Arabidopsis-Pathogen Interactions (J L Dangl, E B Holub, T Debener, H Lehnackers, C Ritter & I R Crute); Arabidopsis Mutant Collection (M Anderson & B Mulligan).

Review :
"... a very useful book ... excellent introductions to the issues they deal with as well as fully detailed descriptions of each respective method with a lot of valuable methodological pointers." " This book contains for everybody who is working with this plant a lot of excellent well-organized information, capped by outstanding index of 40 pages. But also a reader who is not working with Arabidopsis will learn a lot about an interesting plant and modern methods of genetics, as well as some about the recent history of science in a restricted field. A cheap paperback edition as well as the more expensive hardcover edition make this highly recommendable book available for students, too." Johannes Siemens Plant Breeding "Judging by the number of times that my colleagues and I have already referred to this book since it arrived, I can safely say that it will serve as an excellent reference for those researchers already familiar with the field. It should also provide a good introduction for newcomers. I would recommend its purchase." C Dean Journal of Experimental Botany, 1993 "... extremely useful to any researcher involved in cloning genes from Arabidopsis ... This makes this book a useful reference to have in any plant molecular biology laboratory." Vicky Buchanan-Wollaston Plant Growth Regulation, 1993 "I believe the volume will be valuable as well to those studying other plant species. In it we have a book that belongs on the desk of every molecular plant scientist." Peter M Gresshoff Science, 1993 "... the book reviewed here, which represents the first successful attempt in recent years to summarize the molecular genetics of Arabidopsis. This book provides detailed information on research methods used for genetic and molecular analysis in Arabidopsis. It is therefore a valuable reference for individuals interested in using Arabidopsis in their own research programs. David W Meinke Plant Genetics Newsletter, 1995