This book celebrates the dawn of the rye genomics era with concise, comprehensive, and accessible reviews on the current state of rye genomic research, written by experts in the field for students, researchers and growers. To most, rye is the key ingredient in a flavoursome bread or their favourite American whisky. To a farmer, rye is the remarkable grain that tolerates the harshest winters and the most unforgiving soils, befitting its legacy as the life-giving seed that fed the ancient civilisations of northern Eurasia. Since the mid-1900s, scientists have employed genetic approaches to better understand and utilize rye, but only since the technological advances of the mid-2010s has the possibility of addressing questions using rye genome assemblies become a reality. Alongside the secret of its unique survival abilities, rye genomics has accelerated research on a host of intriguing topics such as the complex history of rye’s domestication by humans, the nature of genes that switch fertility on and off, the function and origin of accessory chromosomes, and the evolution of selfish DNA.

This open access book covers a century of research on wheat genetics and evolution, starting with the discovery in 1918 of the accurate number of chromosomes in wheat. We re-evaluate classical studies that are pillars of the current knowledge considering recent genomic data in the wheat group comprising 31 species from the genera Amblyopyrum, Aegilops, Triticum, and other more distant relatives. For these species, we describe morphology, ecogeographical distribution, phylogeny as well as cytogenetic and genomic features. For crops, we also address evolution under human selection, namely pre-domestication cultivation and domestication. We re-examine the genetic and archeological evidence of where, when, and how domestication occurred. We discuss unique aspects of genome evolution and maintenance under polyploidization, in natural and synthetic allopolyploids of the wheat group. Finally, we propose some thoughts on the future prospects of wheat improvement. As such, it can be of great interest to wheat researchers and breeders as well as to plant scientists and students interested in plant genetics, evolution, domestication, and polyploidy.