ATRIUM comprises a group of interactive laboratories on this campus conducting research on the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Arabidopsis is a highly developed model system contributing to many breakthroughs in our understanding of plant growth and development. The recent acceleration in Arabidopsis research can be attributed to the completion of the genome sequence, extensive mutant collections (including the most complete collection of loss-of-function mutations available in any multicellular organism), extensive databases and other powerful genetic tools.

ATRIUM was established in order to advance the campus' strengths in plant research, with a particular focus on enhancing graduate and undergraduate training. Students benefit from ATRIUM activities, such as the monthly meeting and the Annual Arabidopsis Minisymposium, and from our close ties and collaborations with nearby institutions, such as the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology. ATRIUM activities are supported by the Dept. of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics in the College of Life Sciences and the Center for Biosystems Research.