La Arabidopsis thaliana is a plant family of the crucifers (Brassicaceae) of spontaneous growth in fields where the climate is temperate, at first glance it does not have an ornamental value and it is not useful for human consumption, but it does have value in terms of genetic research, plant physiology and molecular biology. It receives as common names arabidopsis and also caterpillar and comes from North Africa, Western Europe and Asia.
Features Arabidopsis thaliana
This herbaceous plant is very small barelySince the size varies between 10 and 30 centimeters, the leaves located at the base of the stem make up a rosette around it, they can also be observed one or the other along the plant and alone.
The flowers are made up of petals arranged in the shape of a cross, in total there are four, and this characteristic is what causes it to be located or classified as cruciferous. The flowers are grouped in small clusters at the end of each stem and in this way form septate siliques that contain a pile of ovoid seeds of about 0,5 mm.
Lifecycle
In its natural habitat the Arabidopsis thaliana lasts 5 to 6 weeks, which is only enough to give an annual generation, in general terms. The situation is very different when it is developed under controlled conditions within a laboratory, where it is possible to obtain up to 6 generations in the same year.
The fact that the plant has a 130 megabase genome, which it is distributed in just 5 chromosomes, being very attractive to be used in various genetic studies.
Care
Regarding the humidity of the substrate, this plant requires a balanced soil since can be kept in good condition on dry and damp soils Although this also depends on general aspects such as whether it is exposed to the sun, what is the texture of the support, temperature or humidity of the environment, among other things.
In this sense, the amount and frequency of irrigation must be adapted, always looking for a point of balance so that the soil moisture is ideal. It is important to avoid puddles. The light requirements are not usually so demanding for the plantFor this reason it can be located in full sun or in semi shade. To achieve a successful cultivation of this plant at home, you just have to follow the following step by step:
- Mix 4 tablespoons of earth with 2 tablespoons of perlite and 3 tablespoons of vermiculite and to this you add enough water to moisten the entire substrate. In a 0,1% agarose solution you are going to place the seeds of the Arabidopsis thaliana galore. Now if you prefer, you can also place them on a moistened paper towel because they are very small.
- Once moistened, transfer them from the agarose solution by means of a pipette to the ground and arrange them on the surface of this, separated with a minimum distance of ½ inch. If you have moistened them in the paper, take them carefully with a tweezers to bring them to the ground. In none of the cases should they be placed underground.
- Store the tray with the seeds for about three days at a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius, before wrap it with plastic to promote germination. Then you place the tray under natural light and at room temperature and leave it with the plastic wrap for a maximum of 3 more days, from there you have to monitor germination and uncover the plastic wrap once a day to remove moisture.
Uses of the plant
The research value of science is what makes the Arabidopsis thaliana so attractive. These are some of its uses:
- Model for studies of how molecular and cellular biology acts in the flowering process of plants.
- Useful for the enlargement of the physical and genetic maps of the 5 chromosomes.
- Its seeds are easy to grow even in restricted environments.
- It is the object of study in government research settings, academic research communities, and laboratories.
- Facilitates the study and experimentation of physiology, biochemistry, molecular genetics and plant development.
- It allows the introduction of genes with the ability to keep them stable, through the Ti plasmid.
Some history
The first time that a person considered the possibility of using this plant for plant research, it was in the year 1943 and this person was Fiedrich Laibach. Their arguments by then were the multiple facilities that it offered to carry out genetic studies.
Arguments based on its small genome and its ephemeral life cycle, compared to other plants, still failed to arouse the attention of potential interested parties due to the fact that the plant lacked commercial value to which was added the fact that the tools microscopic observation of the time, were not adequate to study the tiny chromosomes.
A few years later, certain advances began to be felt that would lead to the use of said plant by science, this happened in the early 80's when an interesting number of genes began to be known within the chromosomes of the Arabidopsis thaliana through mutation and mapping.
By then the genetic analysis of plants using mutants acquired great importance, with the purpose of classifying biochemical processes of high interest. In the same way it was established that in comparison with the other seed plants that are known, this is the one with the least amount of DNA in its genome.
The large amount of research that has been carried out since then in various parts of the world, revolving around the Arabidopsis thaliana They have allowed the knowledge of a plant scientific nature to be nourished by others. There are multiple mutations that have been created in Arabidopsis, which have allowed gene study and they have paved the way for the development of endless ideas regarding photorespiration, biosynthesis, flowering systems, root growth, etc. Expanding the panorama on everything related to the plant world.
In summary, we have described the Arabidopsis thaliana, which occurs in the wild and also in controlled cultures within laboratories, which facilitates research for the purpose of expanding knowledge on genetic, physiological and molecular biology.