Summary: Resources and Opportunities
The Arabidopsis Knockout Facility at the University of
Wisconsin­Madison1
Michael R. Sussman*, Richard M. Amasino, Jeffery C. Young, Patrick J. Krysan, and
Sandra Austin-Phillips
Biotechnology Center (M.R.S., P.J.K., S.A.-P.) and Department of Biochemistry (R.M.A.), University of
Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706; and Biology Department, Western Washington University,
Bellingham, Washington 98225 (J.C.Y.)
As of this writing the Arabidopsis genome is 97%
sequenced with only small portions of the highly re-
petitive regions within centromeres and telomeres re-
maining. The identification of approximately 25,000
plant genes will give plant biologists an opportunity
to identify and understand the function of the pro-
teins they encode. One exciting tool that will aid in
this endeavor is the use of insertional mutagenesis to
create "gene knockouts." The availability of a mutant
line in which the action of a known, specific gene has
been disrupted gives the plant biologist a powerful
tool in understanding the action of that gene. The

Source: Amasino, Richard M. - Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin at Madison

Collections: Biology and Medicine