Initiation of Setaria as a model plant

Abstract

Model organisms such as Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and rice (Oryza sativa) have proven essential for efficient scientific discovery and development of new methods. With the diversity of plant lineages, some important processes such as C₄ photosynthesis are not found in either Arabidopsis or rice, so new model species are needed. Due to their small diploid genomes, short life cycles, self-pollination, small adult statures and prolific seed production, domesticated foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and its wild ancestor, green foxtail (S. viridis), have recently been proposed as novel model species for functional genomics of the Panicoideae, especially for study of C₄ photosynthesis. This review outlines the development of these species as model organisms, and discusses current challenges and future potential of a Setaria model.

Keywords

Setaria / foxtail millet / C₄ photosynthesis / model organism

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Fundamental Research Funds of CAAS (2014ZL002), National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (2013AA102603), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31171560, 31301328) and China Agricultural Research System (CARS07-12.5-A02).ƒ

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Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg