Poorly known relatives of Arabidopsis thaliana

• Published in: Trends in plant science Vol. 11; no. 9; pp. 449 - 459
• Main Authors: Clauss, Maria J., Koch, Marcus A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2006; Elsevier
• Subjects: Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis arenosa; Arabidopsis lyrata; Arabidopsis thaliana; Bacterial plant pathogens; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Evolution; Ecosystem; evolution; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; genomics; Geography; heavy metals; Hybridization, Genetic; literature reviews; metal tolerance; Metals, Heavy - metabolism; Pathology. Damages, economic importance; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; plant genetics; Polyploidy; Reproduction - physiology; Species Specificity; Polyploidy; Genomics; Tolerance; Hybridization; Sexual reproduction; Population genetics; Heavy metal; Arabidopsis thaliana; Molecular evolution; Selfincompatibility; Cruciferae; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Spermatophyta; Speciation
• ISSN: 1360-1385; 1878-4372
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2006.07.005

Non-model Arabidopsis species have been widely used as outgroup taxa in studies of molecular evolution. In Arabidopsis lyrata, Arabidopsis halleri and Arabidopsis arenosa, traits pertaining to self-incompatibility, heavy metal tolerance and inter-specific hybridization have been subjected to detailed genetic analysis. However, the full potential for exploring the causes and consequences of natural variation in complex traits within the genus Arabidopsis has not been widely appreciated or realized. Here, we draw on broadly dispersed information to characterize the basic biology, ecology, population genetics and molecular evolution for these three non-model Arabidopsis species. We illustrate how the wealth of functional and genomic tools pioneered in A. thaliana can be applied to gain insights into adaptive evolution of ecologically important traits and genome-wide processes, such as polyploidy, speciation and reticulate evolution, within and among Arabidopsis species.