Arabidopsis Thaliana

Arabidopsis thaliana (A-ra-bi-dóp-sis tha-li-á-na; thale cress, mouse-ear cress or Arabidopsis), is a small flowering plant native to Europe, Asia, and northwestern Africa. A spring annual with a relatively short life cycle, Arabidopsis is popular as a model organism in plant biology and genetics. Its genome is one of the smallest plant genomes and was the first plant genome to be sequenced. Arabidopsis is a popular tool for understanding the molecular biology of many plant traits, including flower development and light sensing.