About Book

With crop and food bioengineering only in its infancy, the need to understand the genetic mechanisms of plants will only become more pressing. Plant genomics is the study of plant genes and their characteristics. It encompasses the study of plant genomes and examines the genes necessary for mutations. It also comprises the study of plant breeding, genetic modification, DNA sequencing, etc. Its development and advances are tightly interconnected with proteomics, metabolomics, metagenomics, transgenomics, genomic selection, bioinformatics, epigenomics, phenomics, system biology, modern instrumentation, and robotics sciences. Plant genomics has significantly advanced over the past decades in the land of inexpensive, high-throughput sequencing technologies. These advances have broad implications in every aspect of plant biology and breeding, powered with novel genomic selection and manipulation tools while generating many grand challenges and tasks ahead. This book presents the modern approaches of plant genomics. It provides interesting topics for research which readers can take up. It explores plant breeding, selection strategy, genomic data, novel therapeutical targets and phylogenetic diversity. It discusses the future developments in the field and also explores the new technologies supporting the genetic improvement of plants. Different evaluations, methodologies and advanced studies on plant genomics have been included in it. Students, researchers, experts and all associated with this area will benefit alike from this book. It will serve as a valuable resources guide for the readers.

Preface............................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 Application of Genomic Data for PCR Screening of Bet v 1 Conserved Sequence in Clinically Relevant Plant Species..............1

Abstract...................................................................................................1

1. Introduction............................................................................................1

2. Bet v 1 genomics and in silico analysis...........................................6

3. Technical approaches and methodologies for PCR screening of

Bet v 1 sequences in plants.................................................................9

4. Conclusion............................................................................................17

Acknowledgements.............................................................................17

Conflict of interest..............................................................................17

Thanks...................................................................................................17

Chapter 2 The Usage of Genomic Selection Strategy in Plant Breeding......23

Abstract.................................................................................................23

1. Introduction..........................................................................................24

2. Genomic selection scheme.................................................................26

3. Factors responsible for the estimation accuracy of GS models.32

4. Types of marker platforms...............................................................34

5. Advantages of genomic selection....................................................36

6. Limitations of genomic selection.....................................................37

7. Conclusions..........................................................................................38

Acknowledgements.............................................................................40

Nomenclature.......................................................................................41

Chapter 3 Enhanced Phylogenetic Diversity of Anuran Communities:

A Result of Species Loss in an Agricultural Environment............43

Abstract.................................................................................................43

1. Introduction..........................................................................................44

2. Methods................................................................................................45

3. Results...................................................................................................48

4. Discussion.............................................................................................52

Acknowledgements.............................................................................55

Chapter 4 Gene Revolution in Agriculture: 20 Years of Controversy.............62

Abstract.................................................................................................62

1. Introduction..........................................................................................63

2. Research methodology.......................................................................64

3. Global diffusion...................................................................................65

4. Results of hypotheses testing...........................................................76

5. Conclusion............................................................................................80

Chapter 5 Genomics Era for Plants and Crop Species – Advances Made and

Needed Tasks Ahead................................................................................88

Abstract ................................................................................................88

1. Introduction..........................................................................................89

2. Genome of plants and crop species................................................91

3. Crop improvement in the genomics and post-genomics era.....97

4. Grand tasks ahead............................................................................100

5. Conclusions........................................................................................103

Acknowledgements...........................................................................105

Chapter 6 Genome-Wide RNAi Screen for the Discovery of Gene Function,

Novel Therapeutical Targets and Agricultural Applications.......116

1. Introduction........................................................................................116

2. RNAi screen methods......................................................................118

3. Application of RNAi screen............................................................123

4. Conclusion..........................................................................................130

Acknowledgement.............................................................................131

Chapter 7 Genomics-Assisted Plant Breeding in the 21st Century: Technological Advances and Progress..........................................................................138

1. Introduction........................................................................................138

2. Genomics tools and technologies and their applications.........139

3. Molecular breeding approaches ....................................................172

4. Genomics efforts in understanding molecular basis of

plant growth, development and traits of interest towards crop

improvement .....................................................................................186

5. Conclusion..........................................................................................190

Citation......................................................................................................211

Index...........................................................................................................213

About Author

Patricia Fisher with her early interest in ecosystems and plant biology, pursued her Doctoral Degree in Plant Cell and Molecular Genetics from Science University, Leicester. She is an Associate Lecturer at Community College, Zurich. Fisher has extensively researched in the fields of plant science and has simultaneously produced researches published as journal papers and articles. She has attended numerous international conferences on horticultural science, plant breeding and plants in vitro culture.