Genomics-Assisted Crop Improvement

Contents: 1. Microsatellite and SNP markers in wheat breeding; M W Ganal, M S Röder.- 2. Molecular markers and QTL analysis for grain quality improvement in wheat; D Lafiandra, M C Sanguineti, M Maccaferri, E Deambrogio.- 3. Molecular approaches and breeding strategies for drought tolerance in barley; M Baum, M van Korff, P Guo, B Lakew, S M Udupa, H Sayed, W Choumane, S Grando, S Ceccarelli.- 4. Molecular markers for gene pyramiding and disease resistance breeding in barley; W Friedt, F Ordon.- 5. Cloning genes and QTLs for disease resistance in cereals; B Keller, S Bieri, E Bossolini, N Yahiaoui.- 6. Maize breeding and genomics; M Lee.- 7. Molecular markers and marker-assisted selection in rice; D J Mackill.- 8. Application of genomics for molecular breeding in rice; N K Singh, T Mohapatra.- 9. Marker-assisted selection in sorghum; G Ejeta, J E Knoll.- 10. Molecular genetics and breeding of grain legume crops for the semi-arid tropics; R K Varshney, D A Hoisington, H D Upadhyaya, P M Gaur, S N Nigam, K Saxena, V Vadez, N K Sethy, S Bhatia, R Aruna, M V C Gowda, N K Singh.- 11. Genomics approaches to soybean improvement; T D Vuong, X Wu, M S Pathan, B Valliyodan, H T Nguyen.- 12. Application of genomics to forage crop breeding for quality traits; T Lübberstedt.- 13. Molecular mapping, marker-assisted selection and map-based cloning in tomato; M R Foolad.- 14. Genomics for improvement of Rosaceae temperate tree fruit; P Arús, S Gardiner.- 15. DNA markers: development and application for genetic improvement of coffee; P S Hendre, R K Aggarwal.- 16. Genomics of root nodulation in soybean; K Van, M Y Kim, S-H Lee.- 17. Genomics of wheat domestication; C Pozzi, F Salamini.- 18. Transcriptome analysis of the sugarcane genome for crop improvement; P Arruda, T Rezende e Silva

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 InstituteThe 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