Bioresources and Technologies That Accelerate Biomass Research

Recently, plant sciences have been dramatically advanced by the use of resources of the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. Scientists have characterized biological functions of Arabidopsis genes using mutants and full-length cDNA clones that are preserved in stock centers. Model plants can also play important roles in the promotion of biomass research. The RIKEN Biomass Engineering Program (BMEP) uses a model grass, Brachypodium distachyon, in breeding research in monocot plants for biomass production. Resources and technologies developed by the BMEP will be provided to the research community through the RIKEN BioResource Center (BRC). In this paper, Arabidopsis resources that are available from the RIKEN BRC and recent developments and perspectives of the BMEP are described and discussed.