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''Arabidopsis'' (rockcress) is a genus in the family
Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older but equally valid) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important Family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous pla ...
. They are small
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s related to
cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...
and mustard. This genus is of great interest since it contains thale cress (''Arabidopsis thaliana''), one of the
model organism A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Mo ...
s 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 and others. Their findings confirm the species formerly included in ''Arabidopsis'' made it
polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...
. 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 Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 70th parallel north, 72° north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south ...
,
Crucihimalaya ''Crucihimalaya'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Brassicaceae. Its native range is Sinai Peninsula, Sinai to China. Species: *''Crucihimalaya axillaris'' *''Crucihimalaya bursifolia'' *''Crucihimalaya himalaica'' *'' ...
, Ianhedgea, Olimarabidopsis'', and '' Pseudoarabidopsis''. All of the species in ''Arabidopsis'' are indigenous to
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, while two of the species have broad ranges also extending into
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
and
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
. In the last two decades, ''
Arabidopsis thaliana ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small plant from the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and Africa. Commonly found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land, it is generally ...
'' has gained much interest from the scientific community as a
model organism A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Mo ...
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 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 thaliana''
germplasm Germplasm refers to genetic resources such as seeds, tissues, and DNA sequences that are maintained for the purpose of animal and plant breeding, conservation efforts, agriculture, and other research uses. These resources may take the form of s ...
,
bioinformatics Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field of science that develops methods and Bioinformatics software, software tools for understanding biological data, especially when the data sets are large and complex. Bioinformatics uses biology, ...
and
molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...
resources (including GeneChips) is the Nottingham Arabidopsis Stock Centre (NASC) whilst in North America
germplasm Germplasm refers to genetic resources such as seeds, tissues, and DNA sequences that are maintained for the purpose of animal and plant breeding, conservation efforts, agriculture, and other research uses. These resources may take the form of s ...
services are provided by the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC) based at
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
. 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
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
Salyut 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. ''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 ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small plant from the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and Africa. Commonly found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land, it is generally ...
'' has successfully been grown in samples of lunar soil. ''Arabidopsis'' is quite similar to the '' Boechera'' genus.


List of species and subspecies

* '' Arabidopsis arenicola'' (Richardson ex Hook.) Al-Shehbaz, Elven, D.F. Murray & S.I. Warwick — Arctic rock cress (
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
,
Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...
,
Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...
, Québec,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
,
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
,
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
) * '' Arabidopsis arenosa'' (L.) Lawalrée — sand rock cress ** ''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) * '' Arabidopsis cebennensis'' ( DC.) (SE
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
) * '' Arabidopsis croatica'' ( Schott) (
Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
,
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
) * '' Arabidopsis halleri'' (L.) ** ''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) * '' Arabidopsis lyrata'' (L.) O'Kane & Al-Shehbaz — sand cress ** ''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 Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and Mississippi northward into
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
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 Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...
). 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) * '' Arabidopsis neglecta'' ( Schult.) (
Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...
(Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and adjacent Ukraine)) * '' Arabidopsis pedemontana'' ( Boiss.) (northwestern Italy and presumably extinct in adjacent SW Switzerland) * '' Arabidopsis suecica'' (
Fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are ''List of culinary knife cuts#Batonnet, batonnet'' or ''Julienning, julienne''-cut deep frying, deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepa ...
) Norrlin
(Fennoscandinavia and the Baltic region) * ''
Arabidopsis thaliana ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small plant from the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and Africa. Commonly found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land, it is generally ...
'' (L.) Heynh. — thale cress (native range almost all Europe to central Asia, now naturalized worldwide)


Reclassified species

The following species previously placed in ''Arabidopsis'' are not currently considered part of the genus.


Cytogenetics

Cytogenetic analysis has shown the
haploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell (biology), cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for Autosome, autosomal and Pseudoautosomal region, pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the num ...
chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...
number (n) is variable and varies across species in the genus: ''A. thaliana'' is n=5 and the
DNA sequencing DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. The ...
of this species was completed in 2001. ''A. lyrata'' has n=8 but some subspecies or populations are tetraploid. Various subspecies ''A. arenosa'' have n=8 but can be either 2n (diploid) or 4n (tetraploid). ''A. suecica'' is n=13 (5+8) and is an amphidiploid species originated through hybridization between ''A. thaliana'' and diploid ''A. arenosa''. ''A. neglecta'' is n=8, as are the various subspecies of ''A. halleri''. As of 2005, ''A. cebennensis'', ''A. croatica'' and ''A. pedemontana'' have not been investigated cytologically.


See also

* Calcium signaling in ''Arabidopsis''


References


Further reading

* Al-Shehbaz, I. A., O'Kane, Steve L. (2002). Taxonomy and Phylogeny of Arabidopsis (Brassicaceae).
The Arabidopsis Book
': 1-22. * Ceccato, Luca; Masiero, Simona; Sinha Roy, Dola; Bencivenga, Stefano; Roig-Villanova, Irma; Ditengou, Franck Anicet; Palme, Klaus; Simon, Rüdiger; Colombo, Lucia (2013-06-17). Grebe, Markus (ed.).
Maternal Control of PIN1 Is Required for Female Gametophyte Development in Arabidopsis
. ''PLoS ONE''. 8 (6): e66148. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0066148.
ISSN An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit to uniquely identify a periodical publication (periodical), such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs a ...
 1932-6203. PMC 3684594. PMID 23799075. * 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. * (Note that in 2013 ASPB decided to stop publishing new chapters.) {{Authority control Brassicaceae genera