.png){kind=icon}
Topic 1.1 Model Organisms
Plants are a diverse group of organisms with different adaptations to a wide variety of environments. Consequently, some plants have characteristics that make them easy to grow and study in the lab. Just as mice and rats are used as the lab animals for mammalian biology, there are a few lab plants that are most frequently used in plant physiology. Those species that have growth and reproductive properties that provide ease of use in the lab are called model organisms. They are frequently small, hardy organisms with short generation times and small genomes. Different model organisms are used to study different aspects of plant physiology, since no single plant shows all variety of adaptations that make plants interesting. Genetic sequencing is moving apace and a good resource for the genetic information currently available on several model plant organisms and crop species can be found at the web site Phytozome. The table below is a list some plant models and the features that make them interesting and useful model systems.
| Plant Latin Name/ Common Name |
Image | Reason for Use as a Model/ Link to General Information |
Year of Genome Sequence/ Link to Genetic Database |
Arabidopsis thaliana Mouse-ear Cress or Thale Cress |
 |
Small genome, easily grown in lab, self-fertile (does not require a pollinator) |
2000 (first plant to have its genome sequenced) Summary of Arabidopsis |
Brachypodium distachyon Purple False Brome |
 |
Small genome, small physical size, self-fertile, grass family, Monocot |
2010 |
Lotus japonicus Japanese common name: Miyakogusa |
 |
Nitrogen fixer, different symbiotic relationship from Medicago |
In progress in Japan |
Medicago truncatula Barrel Clover |
 |
Nitrogen fixer, different symbiotic relationship from Lotus, small genome and physical size |
In progress internationally |
Picea abies Norway Spruce |
 |
Conifer, used for somatic embryogenesis |
In progress in Sweden |
Selaginella moellendorffii Spikemoss |
 |
Smallest genome of any plant species, lycophyte–a primitive vascular plant |
2008 |
Populus trichocarpa Western Balsam Poplar |
 |
Tree, important in paper manufacturing |
2006 (first tree genome sequenced) |
Physcomitrella patens Moss |
 |
Non-vascular plant, used for investigating tip growth and cell polarity |
2006 |
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Green alga |
 |
Single-celled alga. Study of its flagellar system has been important in revealing the basis of some human ciliary diseases. |
2010 |