IT MAY be just a few centimetres high, but a frail weed this week became a
colossus of plant science. Arabidopsis thaliana, otherwise known as
thale cress, is now the first plant to have its genome fully sequenced.
A worldwide consortium of botanists crowned a 10-year effort by publishing
the full genome of Arabidopsis in the journal Nature. They
expect it to yield vital information on the genetic secrets of all plants,
helping scientists to transform crop plants so the world can be fed with less
harm to the environment.
“It’s a huge milestone,” says Jeff Dangl, a member of the consortium based at…
