“Cereal Genomics” published in 2004 served the purpose of collecting all information on cereal genomics at one place and was well received by the cereal workers through-out the world. The last eight years have witnessed significant advancement in the field of cereal genomics. For instance, high-density genetic maps, physical maps, QTL maps and even draft genome sequence have become available for several cereal species. Furthermore, the next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have revolutionized genomics research, so that it is possible now to sequence genomes of hundreds or thousands of accessions of an individual cereal crop. Significant amounts of data generated using these NGS technologies created a demand for computational tools to analyse this massive data. In view of these developments, the Editors realised that there was a need to have an updated volume on the present status and future prospects of cereal genomics. These developments related to technology and the toolshave been documented in this volume, thus supplementing our earlier edited volume “Cereal Genomics”. “Cereal Genomics II” discusses advances in cereal genomics research made during the last eight years, and presents state-of-art cereal genomics and its utilization involving both basic research such as comparative genomics and functional genomics, and applied research like QTL mapping and molecular breeding.
