Reverse genetic analysis for nuclear genes encoding
plastid proteins
For reasons that are unclear, knockout of nuclear genes by
homologous recombination is unfeasible at present in
higher plants. In Arabidopsis, maize and rice, the targeted
mutagenesis of nuclear genes coding for plastid proteins
has been facilitated by the availability of large collections
of insertion mutants – based on gene disruptions by
T-DNA (A. thaliana ), transposons (maize and A. thaliana
), or mobilized retrotransposons (rice) – which can be
systematically searched for mutations in genes of interest.
The targeted inactivation of nuclear genes by antisense,
co-suppression and RNA interference (RNAi) strategies
has also made a significant contribution