Arabidopsis as model for developmental regulation and crop improvement

Abstract

As the most well-studied plant species in the world, Arabidopsis has played a crucial role in understanding plant development and defense responses, providing an extensive knowledge base for the plant science community. Without intending to provide a comprehensive overview of the achievements made in this plant, this chapter analyzes the breakthroughs made to date to demonstrate the importance to monitor its progresses, and to make use of the genes identified for crop improvement in both the agricultural and horticultural sectors. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.