Insertional mutants: a foundation for assessing gene function.
The abundance of Arabidopsis insert mutants portends the day when null alleles in every gene will be obtained. Once these are created, all plant scientists can become geneticists. However, this brief technical highlight of genetic concepts cautions against ascribing gene function based exclusively on phenotypic analysis of null alleles.
Hirschi
Kendal D
KD
United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS) Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA. kendalh@bcm.tmc.edu
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D010641:Phenotype