The book mainly describes the QTL mappings and efficacy analyses that are associated with wheat productivity, quality, physiology and various stress resistances and provides summaries of results from studies conducted both at home and abroad. It presents comparable data and analyses, helping readers to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the latest development in this field. The book provides a wealth of novel information, broad range of applications and in-depth findings on crop genetics and molecular breeding, making it valuable not only for plant breeders but also for academic faculties, senior researchers and advanced graduate students who are involved in plant breeding and genetics. Dr. Jichun Tian is a professor at the Department of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China.

While focusing on various interactions between trait genes/QTL and dynamic expressions of conditional QTL genes, this book also discusses aspects of molecular marker-assisted breeding, and applications of molecular markers associated with yield, quality, physiology and disease resistance in wheat. It covers QTL studies in wheat breeding and presents the available information on wheat MAS breeding. This volume provides a wealth of novel information, a wide range of applications and deep insights into crop genetics and molecular breeding, which is valuable not only for plant breeders but also for academic faculties, senior researchers and advanced graduate students who are involved in plant breeding and genetics. Dr. Jichun Tian is a professor at the Department of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China.

Selection is an integral component in plant breeding, which ensures the progressive values of the breeding material, in terms of yield and quality. However, selection is influenced by the environment in any given growing season. The observed phenotype is a product of the genotype (G), the environment (E), and/or genotype × environment (G×E). Therefore, phenotypic selection is not always the best predirector of the genotype. Therefore, an environment-independent method is preferred by the breeder. The development of molecular markers in plants has facilitated marker-assisted selection (MAS). MAS requires the establishment of correlation between a desired trait such as disease resistance and molecular marker(s). This can be obtained, e.g., by phenotyping a genetic mapping population followed by QTL analysis. Initially, this process was slow due to the laborious nature of the first DNA molecular marker system, such as restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Later, with the discovery of various marker systems amenable to automation and the development of genotyping techniques and instruments, MAS has become a standard procedure in plant breeding. In wheat breeding, MAS helped to accelerate the introgression of many genes that contribute to improve quality and resistance.