Stefan Jansson is Professor at Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University. He was the European coordinator during the Populus genome sequencing initiative, and has a research focus on natural variation and autumn senescence.Andrew T. Groover studies the developmental biology of forest trees, with a primary focus on secondary growth and wood formation. He is a Geneticist and Director of the Institute of Forest Genetics, US Forest Service, in Davis California.Rishikesh P. Bhalarao is Professor at Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. His primary research interests are auxin signaling and seasonal activity/dormancy transitions of the cambium.

• Overview and an Introduction to the Biology of Populus.- Why and How Populus Became a “Model Tree”.- Salient Biological Features, Systematics, and Genetic Variation of Populus.- Growth and Physiology.- Populus Genetics and Genomics.- The Populus Genome and Comparative Genomics.- Nucleotide Polymorphism, Linkage Disequilibrium and Complex Trait Dissection in Populus.- Transformation as a Tool for Genetic Analysis in Populus.- Populus Resources and Bioinformatics.- Genetics and Genomics of Key Populus Traits.- Reproductive Development in Populus.- Perennial Life Style of Populus: Dormancy Cycling and Overwintering.- Wood Formation in Populus.- Populus Responses to Abiotic Stress.- Defense and Nutrient Mutualisms in Populus.- The Impact of Genomics on Advances in Herbivore Defense and Secondary Metabolism in Populus.- Populus for the Future.- Populus Breeding: From the Classical to the Genomic Approach.- Conservation Genomics.