RNAi for Plant Functional Genomics

RNAi for Plant Functional Genomics

A major challenge in the post-genome era of plant biology is to determine the functions of all the genes in the plant genome. A straightforward approach to this problem is to reduce or knock out expression of a gene with the hope of seeing a phenotype that is suggestive of its function. Insertional mutagenesis is a useful tool for this type of study, but it is limited by gene redundancy, lethal...

RNAi for functional genomics in plants.

RNAi refers to several different types of gene silencing mediated by small, dsRNA molecules. Over the course of 20 years, the scientific understanding of RNAi has developed from the initial observation of unexpected expression patterns to a sophisticated understanding of a multi-faceted, evolutionarily conserved network of mechanisms that regulate gene expression in many organisms. It has also ...

RNAi Towards Functional Genomics Studies

Plant functional genomics.

Nucleotide sequencing of the Arabidopsis genome is nearing completion, sequencing of the rice genome has begun, and large amounts of expressed sequence tag information are being obtained for many other plants. There are many opportunities to use this wealth of sequence information to accelerate progress toward a comprehensive understanding of the genetic mechanisms that control plant growth and...

Plant Comparative and Functional Genomics

Plants form the foundation for our global ecosystem and are essential for environmental and human health. With an increasing number of available plant genomes and tractable experimental systems, comparative and functional plant genomics research is greatly expanding our knowledge of the molecular basis of economically and nutritionally important traits in crop plants. Inferences drawn from comp...