Molecular Plant Biology

With over 1000 original drawings and 500 photographs, this work offers complete coverage of cell biology, plant physiology and molecular biology.

This title is the first part of an all-new replacement for the original book Plant Molecular Biology. The approaches outlined in this volume cover a wide range of techniques for gene isolation, gene identification and subsequent gene isolation.

This book reviews the latest advances in multiple fields of plant biotechnology and the opportunities that plant genetics, genomics and molecular biology have offered for agriculture improvement. Advanced technologies can dramatically enhance our capacity in understanding the molecular basis of traits and utilizing the available resources for accelerated development of high yielding, nutritious, input-use efficient and climate-smart crop varieties. In this book, readers will discover the significant advances in plant genetics, structural and functional genomics, trait and gene discovery, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, epigenomics, nanotechnology and analytical & decision support tools in breeding. This book appeals to researchers, academics and other stakeholders of global agriculture.

This laboratory guide comes at a time when several other method books have already been published in this field. Is this one different from the others? Yes and no. There was no attempt made to be comprehensive. Rather, data were brought to bear on areas where enough competence has been gathered in our laboratories and to complement recent method books (many of which cover extensively various aspects of molecular biology) in those matters which appeared to us somewhat neglected. There was a constant preoccupation and effort to provide miniaturized proce dures that are both simple and time-saving. Interest was devoted to standardized procedures and culture conditions, avoiding dogmas such as those giving excessive importance to sophisticated culture media with endless adjustments for local or personal considerations. The key to success is the quality of the plant material serving as a source of cells. Consequently, isolation. extraction or culture techniques can be simplified and standardized. This is symptomatic for our times as it marks the end of a period when methodological matters were frequently above the biological problems. The times of "methods above all" is basically over, despite the fact that many of us still believe that, say, tissue culture is a "science" per se. By presenting a few original techniques we believe that one seriously reduces the empiricism still prevailing in this area of research.

Recent advances in plant genomics and molecular biology have revolutionized our understanding of plant genetics, providing new opportunities for more efficient and controllable plant breeding. Successful techniques require a solid understanding of the underlying molecular biology as well as experience in applied plant breeding. Bridging the gap between developments in biotechnology and its applications in plant improvement, Molecular Plant Breeding provides an integrative overview of issues from basic theories to their applications to crop improvement including molecular marker technology, gene mapping, genetic transformation, quantitative genetics, and breeding methodology.