Genetics and Genomics of Moss Models: Physiology Enters the Twenty-first Century

Abstract

Bryophytes, and in particular the mosses, Physcomitrella patens and Ceratodon purpureus have been developed for the genetic study of development and metabolism. Their ease of culture and the haploidy of their gametophyte stage, allow essentially microbiological techniques to be used. The discovery that gene targeting occurs at high frequency in both species, allows genes to be inactivated or modified, providing a very powerful tool for the analysis of gene function. The sequence of the P. patens genome is available and sequencing of the C. purpureus genome is in hand. The full potential of these experimental systems is now being realized for the study of photosynthesis.