Arabidopsis has long been acknowledged as the 'Botanical Drosophila' with its small genome, low levels of repetitive DNA, small size and fast generation time it is an ideal molecular genetic tool for the analysis of development in higher plants. Arabidopsis: A Practical Approach provides an introduction to most of the key techniques required for the use of Arabidopsis as an experimental system. It gives a basic introduction to the optimal growth conditions and genetic resources available for Arabidopsis, how this material should be handled, maintained and used. Individual chapters describe strategies for the identification, mapping (using multi-marker lines and recombinant inbreds), and characterisation of different mutants by microscopy, molecular cytogenetics and gene expression analysis. Different cloning strategies, using transposons, T-DNA and map position are described in detail. Sequencing of the Arabidopsis genome will be completed in 2000 and bioinformatics are of key importance; the tools that are available and where they can be found on the Web are presented.
