Arabidopsis lyrata is, together with Arabidopsis thaliana, a member of the Arabidopsis genus. As the thaliana species is widely used as model organism within the green plants lineage, the sequencing of the lyrata species is expected to reveal important comparative genomic data with respect to genomic content, lifestyle differences, etc. The lyrate genome has approximately the same number of genes as the thaliana genome (33000 genes), but the genome itself is 50% larger, while the species only diverged approximately 5 million years ago.

Publication:
The Arabidopsis lyrata genome sequence and the basis of rapid genome size change. Nat Genet. 43(5), 476-481 (2011).