Plant Biotechnology: Recent Advancements and Developments

Prof. (Dr.) S.K. Gahlawat is Chairperson, Department of Biotechnology and Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences, Chaudhary Devi Lal University (CDLU), Sirsa, India. He received postdoctoral BOYSCAST fellowship and DBT Overseas Associateship from the Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India for carrying out research at FRS Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen, UK. He has completed four R&D projects from UGC, ICAR and Government of Haryana. His research interests include development of molecular diagnostic methods for bacterial and viral diseases. He has published more than 70 research papers in journals of National and International repute, five books and supervised the MPhil and PhD research work of twelve students. Dr. R. K. Salar, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, CDLU, Sirsa, India. He was awarded postdoctoral fellowship from the Ministry of Education, Slovakia to pursue postdoctoral research at Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava and also visited Japan, Norway, Austria, Hungary for academic pursuits. Dr. Salar received several R&D projects from UGC, New Delhi, HSCST, Chandigarh and DST, New Delhi. He was felicitated with King Abdullaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) award for best paper published in 3 Biotech. He has supervised several Ph.D. and M.Phil. students for their research. Dr. Salar is also a reviewer of several international journals published by Springer, Elsevier, Wiley-VCH and Taylor & Francis.Dr. P. Siwach, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, CDLU, Sirsa. She was awarded with Silver Jubilee Gold Medal for her Ph.D. thesis by CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. She has received R&D projects from UGC, New Delhi. Her current research areas include Genome Annotations, Identification and Functional Annotation of miRNAs, Molecular Marker Analysis for Improvement of Quality Traits. She has also worked on micro propagation and biochemicalcharacterization of medicinal plants and filed two patents in this field. She is a reviewer of several national and international journals.Dr. J.S. Duhan, Ph.D. (Microbiology) is a Sr. Assistant Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, CDLU, Sirsa. He is the recipient of Young Scientist Award given by the Association of Microbiologists of India and K.K. Nanda award for best research and several other best paper awards. He has more than seventy research papers and edited two books published by Springer and Narosa. He has received R&D projects from UGC and CSIR, New Delhi. He has supervised the research work of fifteen M. Phil. and five Ph.D. students. His specialization includes Microbial Biotechnology and Fermentation Technology. He is a reviewer of several national and international journals. Dr. Suresh Kumar, Ph.D. is presently working in the Department of Biotechnology, CDLU, Sirsa. His specialization includes Microbial and Environmental Biotechnology.He has published more than 17 research papers in journals of National and International repute.  Dr. Pawan Kaur, Ph.D. is presently working in the Department of Biotechnology, CDLU, Sirsa. She has post PhD research experience in the area of drug delivery. Her area of interests includes synthesis of nanoparticles, nanocomposites, antimicrobial activity & cytotoxicity of nano-formulations in biotechnology.

• Chapter 1. Advances in Computational Tools for Plant microRNA Identification.- Chapter 2. Control of Gene Expression by RNAi: A Revolution in Functional Genomics.- Chapter 3. Engineering Abiotic Stress Tolerance Traits for Mitigating Climate Change.- Chapter 4. Developing Climate Smart Aerobic Rice Varieties for Addressing the Problems of Water Scarcity and Global Warming.- Chapter 5. Biotechnological Aspects for Enhancement of Mineral Bioavailability from Cereals and Legumes.- Chapter 6. Recent Biotechnological Approaches to Study Taxonomy of Legume Nodule Forming Rhizobia.- Chapter 7. Applications of Trichoderma Species for Environment and Food Security.- Chapter 8. Fermentation in Cereals: A Tool to Enhance Bioactive Compounds.- Chapter 9. Molecular Structure, Biological Functions and Metabolic Regulation of Flavonoids.- Chapter 10. Enzymatic Approaches for the Synthesis of High Fructose Syrup.- Chapter 11. Starch Nanoparticles and Their Applications.- Chapter  12. Recent Updates on Molecular Biotechnological Intervention in Isabgol.- Chapter 13. Flavonoids: A Nutraceutical and Its Role as Anti-inflammatory and Anti-cancer Agent.- Chapter 14. Recent Advances in Biodegradable Films, Coatings and their Applications.- Chapter 15. Bioplastics: A Sustainable Approach Towards Healthier Environment.- Chapter 16. Biotechnological Strategies for Remediation of Toxic Metal(loid)s from Environment.- Chapter 17. Genetic Engineering of Poplar: Current Achievements and Future Goals.