Plant Biotechnology: Trends And Techniques

Description

For centuries, humankind has made improvements to crop plants through selective breeding and hybridization – the controlled pollination of plants. Plant biotechnology is an extension of this traditional plant breeding with one very important difference; plant biotechnology allows for the transfer of a greater variety of genetic information in a more precise, controlled manner. Thus allowing plant breeders to develop crops with specific beneficial traits without the undesirable ones. Many of these, in new plant varieties, fight plant pests, insects, disease and weeds that can be otherwise devastating to crops. Others provide quality improvements, such as tastier fruits or nutrition enhancements such as oil seeds that produce oils with lower saturated fat content.
Crop improvements like these can help provide an abundant, healthful food supply and protect our environment for future generations. The present book explores contemporary techniques and applications of plant biotechnology, illustrating the tremendous potential this practice has to change our world by improving the food supply. It guides students from plant biology and genetics to breeding, principles and applications of plant biotechnology. This book is recommended for junior and senior level courses in plant biotechnology or plant genetics and for courses devoted to special topics at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also an ideal reference for practitioners.