Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement: Cereals, Volume 2

Hardback  456 pp  ISBN 0849314321      £92.00

• Stresses the importance of germplasm exploration, maintenance, and assimilation for increasing the yield for cereal crops
• Presents methodologies for crop improvement including conventional, cytogenetic, mutation, molecular, cell, and tissue cultures, and genetic transformation
• Discusses the current status of taxonomy, genomic and chromosomal constitution, and geographical distribution of essential cereal crops
• Provides extensive literature citations in each chapter

Summarizing landmark research, Volume 2 of this essential series furnishes information on the availability of germplasm resources that breeders can exploit for producing high-yielding cereal crop varieties. Written by leading international experts, this volume offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on employing genetic resources to increase the yield of those cereal crops that provide the main source of nutrition for two-thirds of the world.

In thirteen succinct chapters, Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement: Cereals, Volume 2 focuses on wheat, rice, maize, oats, barley, millet, sorghum, and rye, as well as triticale: a wheat and rye hybrid with great potential.

An introductory chapter outlines the cytogenetic architecture of cereal crops, describes the principles and strategies of cytogenetics and breeding, and summarizes landmarks in current research. This sets the stage for the ensuing crop-specific chapters. Each chapter generally provides a comprehensive account of the crop, its origin, wild relatives, exploitation of genetic resources in the primary, secondary, and tertiary gene pools through breeding and cytogenetic manipulation, and genetic enrichment using the tools of molecular genetics and biotechnology.

Certain to become the standard reference for improving the yields of these critical grains, this book is the definitive source of information for plant breeders, agronomists, cytogeneticists, taxonomists, molecular biologists, biotechnologists, and graduate students and researchers in these fields.

Contents

• Cytogenetic Architecture of Cereal Crops and Their Manipulation to Fit Human Needs: Opportunities and Challenges, P.P. Jauhar
• Chromosome Engineering of the Durum Wheat Genome: Strategies and Applications of Potential Breeding Value, C. Ceoloni and P.P. Jauhar
• Utilization of Genetic Resources for Bread Wheat Improvement, A. Mujeeb-Kazi
• Molecular Markers, Genomics, and Genetic Engineering in Wheat, N. Lapitan and P.P. Jauhar
• Cytogenetic Manipulation and Germplasm Enhancement of Rice, (Oryza sativa L.), D.S. Brar and G.S. Khush
• Genetic Enhancement of Maize by Cytogenetic Manipulation, and Breeding for Yield, Stress Tolerance, and High Protein Quality, S.K. Vasal, O. Riera-Lizarazu, and P.P. Jauhar
• Cytogenetic Manipulation in Oat Improvement, E.N. Jellen and J.M. Leggett
• Utilization of Genetic Resources for Barley Improvement, R.J. Singh
• Chromosome Mapping in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), J.M. Costa and R.J. Singh
• Genetic Improvement of Pearl Millet for Grain and Forage Production: Cytogenetic Manipulation and Heterosis Breeding, P.P. Jauhar, K.N. Rai, P. Ozias-Akins, Z. Chen, and W.W. Hanna
• Sorghum Genetic Resources, Cytogenetics, and Improvement, B.V.S. Reddy, S. Ramesh, and P. Sanjana Reddy
• Rye (Secale cereale L.): A Younger Crop Plant with a Bright Future, R. Schlegel
• Triticale: A Low-Input Cereal with Untapped Potential, T. Lelley
• Index