Plants are amazing organisms to study; many are stunningly beautiful, others are critical
staple foods, some are important sources for pharmaceuticals, and others can help to elucidate
molecular mechanisms required for a plant’s development and its interactions with the
biotic or abiotic environment. Plant research in the post-genomic era can strongly build on
high-quality genome sequences of a large number of plant species, many of which being
non-model plants including valuable crop species, plants important for their phylogenetic
position, secondary metabolites, or other well-studied research questions. However, analysis
of gene functions or even complex molecular mechanisms are still characterized in only
a handful of plant model organisms such as Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress), Oryza sativa
(rice), or several tobacco species.