Functional genomics in forage and turf - present status and future prospects

Abstract

The recent advances in plant genomics have greatly influenced basic research in many agriculturally 
important crops. Along with the availability of complete genome information from the model grass 
species rice and the model legume species M. trucncatula, the functional genomics activities in other 
crop species will accelerate the genomics studies of forage and turf. Brachypodium distachyon was 
recently proposed as a new model plant for forage and turf grass genomics studies. The combination of 
bioinformatics and genomics will enhance our understanding of the molecular functions of forage and 
turf species. This review focuses on recent advances and applications of functional genomics for large
scale EST projects, global gene expression analyses, proteomics, and metabolic profiling, as well as 
the impact of functional genomics on improvement of forage and turf crops.