and isomerize the genome. Like most plant mitochondrial genomes, the Arabidopsis mitochondrial genome exists as a complex arrangement of overlapping branched and linear molecules in vivo. Genetics Genetic transformation of A. thaliana is routine, using Agrobacterium tumefaciens to transfer DNA into the plant genome. The current protocol, termed "floral dip", involves simply dipping flowers into a solution containing Agrobacterium carrying a plasmid of interest and a detergent. This method avoids the need for tissue culture or plant regeneration. The A. thaliana gene knockout collections are a unique resource for plant biology made possible by the availability of high-throughput transformation and funding for genomics resources. The site of T-DNA insertions has been determined for over 300,000 independent transgenic lines, with the information and seeds accessible through online T-DNA databases. Through these collections, insertional mutants are available for most genes in A. thaliana. Characterized accessions and mutant lines of A. thaliana serve as experimental material in laboratory studies. The most commonly used background lines are Ler (Landsberg erecta), and Col, or Columbia. Other background lines less-often cited in the scientific literature are Ws, or Wassilewskija, C24, Cvi, or Cape Verde Islands, Nossen, etc. (see for ex.) Sets of closely related accessions named Col-0, Col-1, etc., have been obtained and characterized; in general, mutant lines are available through stock centers, of which best-known are the Nottingham Arabidopsis Stock Center-NASC and the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center-ABRC in Ohio, USA. The Col-0 accession was selected by Rédei from within a (nonirradiated) population of seeds designated 'Landsberg' which he received from Laibach. Columbia (named for the location of Rédei's former institution, University of Missouri-Columbia) was the reference accession sequenced in the Arabidopsis Genome Initiative. The Later (Landsberg erecta) line was selected by Rédei (because of its short stature) from a Landsberg population he had mutagenized with X-rays. As the Ler collection of mutants is derived from this initial line, Ler-0 does not correspond to the Landsberg accessions, which designated La-0, La-1, etc. Trichome formation is initiated by the GLABROUS1 protein. Knockouts of the corresponding gene lead to glabrous plants. This phenotype has already been used in gene editing experiments and might be of interest as visual marker for plant research to improve gene editing methods such as CRISPR/Cas9. Non-Mendelian inheritance controversy In 2005, scientists at Purdue University proposed that A. thaliana possessed an alternative to previously known mechanisms of DNA repair, producing an unusual pattern of