Functional genomics is a young discipline whose origin can be traced back to the late 1980s and early 1990s, when molecular tools became available to determine the cellular functions of genes. Today, functional genomics is p- ceived as the analysis, often large-scale, that bridges the structure and organi- tion of genomes and the assessment of gene function. The completion in 2000 of the genome sequence of Arabidopsis thaliana has created a number of new and exciting challenges in plant functional genomics. The immediate task for the plant biology community is to establish the functions of the approximately 25,000 genes present in this model plant. One major issue that will remain even after this formidable task is c- pleted is establishing to what degree our understanding of the genome of one model organism, such as the dicot Arabidopsis, provides insight into the or- nization and function of genes in other plants. The genome sequence of rice, completed in 2002 as a result of the synergistic interaction of the private and public sectors, promises to significantly enrich our knowledge of the general organization of plant genomes. However, the tools available to investigate gene function in rice are lagging behind those offered by other model plant systems. Approaches available to investigate gene function become even more limited for plants other than the model systems of Arabidopsis, rice, and maize.

Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext
Dr. Grotewold is an Associate Professor of Plant Biology at The Ohio State University. He recieved his Ph.D from the Instituto de Ingenieria Genetics y Bologia Molecular, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1988. His research focuses on Regulation of Gene Expression; Function and Evolution of Myb Proteins; Plant Metabolic Engineering. Combining molecular, cellular, biochemical and genetic approaches, his laboratory investigates fundamental questions regarding the mechanisms by which plants control gene expression, and how transcription factors have impacted plant evolution and speciation. He has started to develop regulatory networks in Arabidopsis that should help explain how the 28,000+ Arabidopsis genes are expressed. In addition, he is utilizing his extensive knowledge on transcription factors for plant metabolic engineering.

Klappentext
As more and more plant genomes are sequenced, plant researchers have been inundated with an avalanche of novel methodologies to identify the function of tens of thousands of plant genes. In Plant Functional Genomics, Erich Grotewold has assembled a team of leading plant scientists to describe in detail the most commonly used methods for investigating plant gene function in a wide variety of plants, during plant pathogen interactions, and even in algae. These readily reproducible protocols include computational, molecular, and genetic methodologies designed for both general and specific problems. Here the reader will learn how to identify genes in complex systems that have large genomes, few cells, and mixed cell systems. Readers will also learn the use of powerful computational and statistical tools to help predict gene function, either on the basis of comparative genomics, or from the analysis of complex genome sequences. Because establishing gene function relies on the identification of phenotypes, the authors expand the concept of phenotypes, including the use of multiple outputs as the ultimate phenotypic result of changes in gene activity. Numerous loss-of-function and gain-of-function techniques for discovering gene function are presented in step-by-step detail.
Comprehensive and highly practical, Plant Functional Genomics offers plant biologists readily reproducible computational, molecular, and genetic protocols, powerful tools that will enable them, with little or no experience, successfully to investigate any gene function with the most recent methodologies.

Inhalt
Finding Genes in Complex Plant Systems.- An Improved Method for Plant BAC Library Construction.- Constructing Gene-Enriched Plant Genomic Libraries Using Methylation Filtration Technology.- RescueMu Protocols for Maize Functional Genomics.- Precious Cells Contain Precious Information.- Combined ESTs from Plant-Microbe Interactions.- In Silico Prediction of Plant Gene Function.- Computer Software to Find Genes in Plant Genomic DNA.- Genomic Colinearity as a Tool for Plant Gene Isolation.- Using Natural Allelic Diversity to Evaluate Gene Function.- Quantitative Trait Locus Analysis as a Gene Discovery Tool.- Forward and Reverse Genetic Strategies.- Transposon Tagging Using Activator (Ac) in Maize.- T-DNA Mutagenesis in Arabidopsis.- Physical and Chemical Mutagenesis.- High-Throughput TILLING for Functional Genomics.- Gene and Enhancer Traps for Gene Discovery.- High-Throughput TAIL-PCR as a Tool to Identify DNA Flanking Insertions.- Custom Knock-Outs with Hairpin RNA-Mediated Gene Silencing.- Virus-Induced Gene Silencing.- Exploring the Potential of Plant RNase P as a Functional Genomics Tool.- Maintaining Collections of Mutants for Plant Functional Genomics.- Gain of Function Approaches.- Vector Construction for Gene Overexpression as a Tool to Elucidate Gene Function.- T-DNA Activation Tagging.- Phenotypic Profiling as a Tool to Determine Gene Function.- Expression Profiling Using cDNA Microarrays.- Open Architecture Expression Profiling of Plant Transcriptomes and Gene Discovery Using GeneCalling® Technology.- Proteomics as a Functional Genomics Tool.- Metabolite Profiling as a Functional Genomics Tool.- Growth Stage-Based Phenotypic Profiling of Plants.