Molecular Plant Breeding

Description

Molecular Plant Breeding (MPB) utilizes latest genetic technologies to develop better varieties of crop plants. Two molecular technologies, viz. molecular marker technology and transformation technology are used in molecular plant breeding. Molecular Plant Breeding attempts to present the complete picture of plant breeding ranging from the classical to the molecular approaches applied to crop improvement. The progress made in DNA marker technology has been remarkable and exciting in recent years. DNA markers have proved valuable tools in various analyses in plant breeding. Molecular breeding is of very recent origin. It developed In the 1980s with the evolution of DNA marker technologies. Molecular breeding is defined as a branch of plant breeding which utilizes molecular genetic tools and approaches for genetic improvement of crop plants. In other words, genetic improvement of crop plants for various economic traits using molecular marker and transformation technologies is referred to as molecular plant breeding. This book is designed primarily for graduate students, viz., B.Sc. agriculture and B.Sc. science students with botany as one of the subjects, who would get their first exposure to plant breeding. It would also be useful for the post-graduate students, especially in botany, and to teachers of the subject. The book is written in simple and easy to understand language.