Plant Molecular Genetics

This text, concisely sets out the fundamentals required by students in this rapidly growing field. Plant Molecular Genetics is split into four parts: the first deals with the structure and inheritance of plant genomes; the second with the biology of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and its use in plant transformation; the third with key topics in plant molecular biology, including nitrogen fixation, the effect of light on plant development, flowering, breeding systems and disease resistance. The final section provides an overview of plant biotechnology, including a discussion of its future prospects.

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.

The purpose of this book is to present classical plant development in modern, molecular-genetic terms. The study of plant development is rapidly changing as plant genome projects uncover a multitude of new genes. This book provides a framework for integrating gene discovery and genome analysis into the context of plant development. Molecular Genetics of Plant Development is designed to be used as a text-book for upper-division or graduate courses in plant development. The book will also serve as a reference book for scientists in the field of plant molecular biology or plant molecular genetics. The book is also useful for general development courses in which both animal and plant development are presented.

In the Dictionary of Plant Genetics and Molecular Biology, more than 3,500 technical terms from the fields of plant genetics and molecular biology are defined for students, teachers, and researchers in universities, institutes, and agricultural research stations. An excellent educational tool that will save you time and effort, this dictionary brings together into a single source the meaning and origin of terms from the fields of classical genetics, molecular genetics, mutagenesis, population genetics, statistics, plant biotechnology, evolutionary genetics, plant breeding, and plant biotechnology. Finding and understanding the precise meaning of many terms in genetics is crucial to understanding the foundation of the subject matter. For reasons of space, the glossaries provided at the end of most textbooks are highly inadequate. There is, then, dire need for a dictionary of terms in a single volume. You?ll appreciate the helpful approaches and features of Dictionary of Plant Genetics and Molecular Biology, including: no terms that are of limited use, very general, or self-explanatory cross references for effective access to the materials and economy of space alternate names of terms, denoted with “Also referred to as . . .” or “Also known as . . .” multiple definitions for terms defined by different authors or for terms with different meanings in different contexts authors who coined, described, or contributed toward further understanding of a term are listed and respective publications are included in the Bibliography At last, there is compiled in a single volume the technical terms you need to know in order to understand plant genetics and molecular biology. As your knowledge grows, you?ll uncover even more terms that you need to understand. You?ll find yourself turning to this handy guide time and time again for help on all levels.

This Special Issue on molecular genetics, genomics, and biotechnology in crop plant breeding seeks to encourage the use of the tools currently available. It features nine research papers that address quality traits, grain yield, and mutations by exploring cytoplasmic male sterility, the delicate control of flowering in rice, the removal of anti-nutritional factors, the use and development of new technologies for non-model species marker technology, site-directed mutagenesis and GMO regulation, genomics selection and genome-wide association studies, how to cope with abiotic stress, and an exploration of fruit trees adapted to harsh environments for breeding purposes. A further four papers review the genetics of pre-harvest spouting, readiness for climate-smart crop development, genomic selection in the breeding of cereal crops, and the large numbers of mutants in straw lignin biosynthesis and deposition.

Practical Applications of Plant Molecular Biology is an important new title which covers the major techniques and how they are applied to a range of vitally important areas. Divided broadly into four sections, this book covers key subjects including the identification of plants and plant pathogens using molecular techniques, the estimation of genetic variation in plants, the use of molecular markers in plant improvement and the use of plant transformation techniques for the improvement of quality and the introduction of resistance. Also included is a comprehensive listing and description of the most frequently used techniques and a set of appendices covering useful topics of reference for the reader. All undergraduates studying plant sciences, molecular biology, biotechnology and agricultural sciences would benefit from having access to this title as would those studying for upper-level Masters courses concentrating on the disciplines covered. This book also provides an invaluable source of reference for professionals in agriculture, plant breeding, crop protection and improvement, biotechnology and molecular biology.

Molecular Biology of Plants presents the formal scientific presentations delivered on the symposium on plant molecular biology, held at the University of Minnesota in 1976. The topics in this book are organized around the central dogma of molecular biology. Section I describes the organization and replication of DNA in plant chromosomes, including chloroplast genomes; Section II discusses molecular aspects of transcription and translation, ribosomal RNA gene systems and hormonal control of protein synthesis. Section III examines plant viruses and bacterial agents, in particular the crown gall system, viroids, and the replication of plant RNA viruses. Each of these specific topics contributes to an integrated knowledge of plant molecular biology. The book will be of interest to geneticists, cell biologists, plant breeders, plant physiologists, plant pathologists, and biochemists.

The impact of molecular genetics on plant breeding and, consequently, agri culture, is potentially enonnous. Understanding and directing this potential im pact is crucial because of the urgent issues that we face concerning sustainable agriculture for a growing world population as well as conservation of the world's rapidly dwindling plant genetic resources. This book is largely devoted to the applications of genetic markers that have been developed by the application of molecular genetics to practical problems. These are known as DNA markers. They have gained a certain notoriety in foren sics, but can be used in a variety of practical situations. We are going through a period of accelerated breakthroughs in molecular ge netics. Therefore, the authors of each chapter were encouraged to speculate about both current bottlenecks and the future of their subfields of research. We can cer tainly apply molecular genetic tools and approaches to help resolve crucial ge netic resource problems that face humanity. However, little has been discussed with respect to when or how we should use such tools, nor to who specifically should use them; therefore, social and economic analyses are important in the planning stages of projects that are aimed at practical results.