[Campbell Biology P.825] Which of the following is NOT listed as a reason why Arabidopsis th... | Practice Question

Which of the following is NOT listed as a reason why Arabidopsis thaliana is a favored model organism for plant geneticists and molecular biologists?

  • A: Its small size allows thousands of plants to be cultivated in a small lab space.
  • B: It has a long generation time, enabling long-term genetic studies.
  • C: It produces a large number of seeds, facilitating genetic analysis.
  • D: It has a small genome with only five pairs of chromosomes, simplifying gene location.

Explanation

The text explicitly states that Arabidopsis thaliana has a 'short generation time, taking about six weeks for a seed to grow into a mature plant that produces more seeds', which enables rapid genetic experiments. Therefore, having a long generation time is incorrect.