Isatis tinctoria, aka Isatis indigotica, has long been used as a source of the blue dye, indigo, and numerous phytopharmacological agents. As such, it has received a different kind of attention at the transcriptomic level than other species, broadening our perspective on the study of eXtremophytes.
A. arenosa is a wonderful model for understanding the mechanisms and effects of repeated genome duplication and hybridization events, and for studying ecological adaptation. It is found throughout Europe in a variety of disturbed area types (mountain slopes, forest margins, roadsides, railroad tracks, river banks and grassy and sandy areas), and from sea level up to 2000 m, with genetic specializations to a wide variety of edaphic conditions.
Schrenkiella parvula – a 7 chromosome member of the Brassicaceae – has an eXtreme ability, in the natural world, to function in the hypersaline conditions surrounding Lake Tuz in central Anatolia, Turkey. It is also notable for its tolerance of high levels of other cations, especially Li+ and Mg2+ and of Boron. These extreme adaptations were central to the initial decision to sequence the genome of this species.
E. salsugineum (formerly Thellungiella salsuginea) was originally selected as a model organism because of its ability, in the natural world, to function in saline, cold, and freezing conditions, and for its efficient mobilization of resources in poor or degraded soils.
Arabidopsis halleri is a close relative of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, differing in at least two important ways. First, unlike A. thaliana, A. halleri is […]