What is a SALK line?

What is a SALK line?

T-DNA insertion lines provide important resource for genetic analysis based on mutagenesis in plant research. SALK lines are the most widely used T-DNA insertion lines for the model plant Arabidopsis. Accurate assessment of insertions is critical for understanding the value of the insertion lines.

What are the uses of T-DNA insertion mutants?

Transfer DNA (T-DNA) insertion mutants are often used in forward and reverse genetics to reveal the molecular mechanisms of a particular biological process in plants. To generate T-DNA insertion mutants, T-DNA must be inserted randomly in the genome through transformation mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

What is T-DNA mutagenesis?

T-DNA tagging mutagenesis involves screening of populations by T-DNA insertional mutations. Collections of known T-DNA mutations provide resources to study the functions of individual genes, as developed for the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana .

What is tail PCR?

Thermal asymmetric interlaced polymerase chain reaction (TAIL-PCR) is a fast and efficient method to amplify unknown sequences adjacent to known insertion sites in Arabidopsis.

What is the function of T-DNA?

T-DNA is transferred from Agrobacterium to host cells as a single-strand molecule (the T-strand), and therefore the original proposed function of VirE2 was to protect T-strands from nucleolytic degradation as they travel from the bacterium to the host cell (Tinland et al., 1994; Yusibov et al., 1994).

Why Arabidopsis thaliana is used as a model?

Arabidopsis was originally adopted as a model organism because of its usefulness for genetic experiments. Important features included a short generation time, small size that limited the requirement for growth facilities, and prolific seed production through self-pollination.