Many model organisms have obtained a prominent status due to an
advantageous combination of their life-history characteristics, genetic
properties and also practical considerations. In non-crop plants,
Arabidopsis thaliana is the most renowned model and has been used as
study system to elucidate numerous biological processes at the molecular
level. Once a complete genome sequence was available, research has
markedly accelerated and further established A. thaliana as the
reference to stimulate studies in other species with different biology.
Within the Brassicaceae family, the arctic-alpine perennial Arabis
alpina has become a model complementary to A. thaliana to study
life-history evolution and ecological genomics in harsh environments. In
this review, we provide an overview of the properties that facilitated
the rapid emergence of A. alpina as a plant model. We summarize the
evolutionary history of A. alpina, including the diversification of its
mating system, and discuss recent progress in the molecular dissection
of developmental traits that are related to its perennial life history
and environmental adaptation. We indicate open questions from which
future research might be developed in other Brassicaceae species or more
distantly related plant families.
Evolutionary and ecological genomics of non-model plants