Genomics-Assisted Crop Improvement

"Ever since the advent of modern crop improvement, breeders have dreamed of applying marker-based selection in their populations. Morphological markers have long been known but are too few to be of any use. Protein markers, e.g. isozymes, are not of much use either also due to their paucity, while RFLPs are expensive and cumbersome to use. Advances in genomics have given us microsatellite and SNP markers in such high number that molecular marker technology for crop improvement and eventually for human welfare has become a reality. These advances in genomics are reviewed in this valuable two-volume set. The editors are to be commended for their labor of love for compiling such a huge volume of information on crop genomics." Gurdev S. Khush FRS, member NAS, Former Principal Plant Breeder, International Rice Research Institute "The success of crop improvement has come through the willingness and ability of breeders and researchers to develop and apply new strategies and technologies. The development of molecular tools for tracking genes paved the way for the introduction of marker-assisted selection to monitor individual loci and optimise allele deployment. The advent of the new techniques of genomics is starting to unravel the behaviour of the whole genome and is paving the way to genome-wide breeding where multiple regions are tracked and complex traits can be manipulated more effectively. These two volumes cover both the techniques and the applications of genomics as seen from the perspective of breeders and molecular biologists. They also present a broad and updated view of the area and provide a reference point that will be an invaluable resource to crop geneticists and breeders for both research and crop improvement." Peter Langridge, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics

Genomics-Assisted Crop Improvement: An Overview.- Genic Molecular Markers in Plants: Development and Applications.- Molecular Breeding: Maximizing the Exploitation of Genetic Diversity.- Modeling Qtl Effects and Mas in Plant Breeding.- Applications of Linkage Disequilibrium and Association Mapping in Crop Plants.- Exploitation of Natural Biodiversity Through Genomics.- Genomeless Genomics in Crop Improvement.- Comparative Genomics of Cereals.- Cloning Qtls in Plants.- Use of Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (Sage) for Transcript Profiling in Plants.- Genetical Genomics: Successes and Prospects in Plants.- Analysis of Salt Stress-Related Transcriptome Fingerprints from Diverse Plant Species.- Auxin and Cytokinin Signaling Component Genes and Their Potential for Crop Improvement.- Statistical Advances in Functional Genomics.- Tilling and Ecotilling for Crop Improvement.- Characterization of Epigenetic Biomarkers Using New Molecular Approaches.