This species’s reference genome helped map and assemble the more complex, polyploid wheat genome and served as a scaffold for genomic assembly of multiple barley species. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this monocot grass species whose incredibly small genome was just one key factor outlined by John Draper’s lab in a landmark 2001 paper championing its use as a model organism.
ANSWER: Brachypodium distachyon [accept B. distachyon; prompt on Brachypodium]
[10m] One system that popularized Brachypodium as a model organism uses microprojectile bombardment and hygromycin selection to accomplish this general process. Well-plates filled with Agrobacterium facilitate this process in Arabidopsis in a “floral dip” technique.
ANSWER: genetic transformation [or creating transgenic plants; or gene transfer; or transfection; reject transduction]
[10e] Since 2001, Brachypodium has been used to characterize nearly every enzyme in this organic polymer’s biosynthesis. With cellulose and pectin, this protein provides structural support to plant cell walls.
ANSWER: lignin
<RH, Biology>