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Brachypodium distachyon, a New Model for the Triticeae

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Genetics and Genomics of the Triticeae

Part of the book series: Plant Genetics and Genomics: Crops and Models ((PGG,volume 7))

Abstract

Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium) is a small annual grass with biological, physical and genomic attributes (e.g. rapid cycling, small stature, inbreeding, small genome, diploid accessions) suitable for use as a modern model system. In pursuit of this goal, researchers have made rapid progress in developing genomic resources that will transform Brachypodium into a powerful model system including: facile Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methods, BAC libraries, physical maps, genetic maps, and germplasm resources. In addition, a preliminary 4x draft of the entire genome has been released, and completion of the final 8x assembly is anticipated in 2009. This chapter provides an overview of the advantages of Brachypodium as a model system and surveys the use and potential applications of this system to aid wheat, barley and Lolium research.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by USDA CRIS project 5325-21000-013-00 “Biotechnological Enhancement of Energy Crops” and by the Office of Science (BER), U.S. Department of Energy, Interagency Agreement No. DE-AI02-07ER64452.

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  1. USDA-ARS Western Regional Research Center, Genomics and Gene Discovery Unit, 94710, Albany, CA, USA

    John Vogel & Jennifer Bragg

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  1. John Vogel
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Correspondence to John Vogel .

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    Vogel, J., Bragg, J. (2009). Brachypodium distachyon, a New Model for the Triticeae. In: Muehlbauer, G., Feuillet, C. (eds) Genetics and Genomics of the Triticeae. Plant Genetics and Genomics: Crops and Models, vol 7. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77489-3_16

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