This book aims to help plant breeders by reviewing past achievements, currently successful practices, and emerging methods and techniques. Theoretical considerations are also presented to strike the right balance between being as simple as possible but as complex as necessary. The United Nations predicts that the global human population will continue rising to 9.0 billion by 2050. World food production will need to increase between 70-100 per cent in just 40 years. First generation bio-fuels are also using crops and cropland to produce energy rather than food. In addition, land area used for agriculture may remain static or even decrease as a result of degradation and climate change, despite more land being theoretically available, unless crops can be bred which tolerate associated abiotic stresses. Lastly, it is unlikely that steps can be taken to mitigate all of the climate change predicted to occur by 2050, and beyond, and hence adaptation of farming systems and crop production will be required to reduce predicted negative effects on yields that will occur without crop adaptation. Substantial progress will therefore be required in bridging the yield gap between what is currently achieved per unit of land and what should be possible in future, with the best farming methods and best storage and transportation of food, given the availability of suitably adapted cultivars, including adaptation to climate change. My book is divided into four parts: Part I is an historical introduction; Part II deals with the origin of genetic variation by mutation and recombination of DNA; Part III explains how the mating system of a crop species determines the genetic structure of its landraces; Part IV considers the three complementary options for future progress: use of sexual reproduction in further conventional breeding, base broadening and introgression; mutation breeding; and genetically modified crops.

This new volume provides a better understanding of molecular plant breeding in order to boost the quality of agriculture produce, to increase crop yields and to provide nutritious food for everyone by 2050. Scientists believe the challenge can be met by implementing new and improved techniques of quantitative trait inheritance in plant breeding. Integrating genomics and molecular biology into appropriate tools and methodologies can help to create genetically engineered plants, such as by using biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, molecular markers, ‘-omics’ technology, and genome editing.

This book discusses advances in our understanding of the structure and function of the maize genome since publication of the original B73 reference genome in 2009, and the progress in translating this knowledge into basic biology and trait improvement. Maize is an extremely important crop, providing a large proportion of the world’s human caloric intake and animal feed, and serving as a model species for basic and applied research. The exceptionally high level of genetic diversity within maize presents opportunities and challenges in all aspects of maize genetics, from sequencing and genotyping to linking genotypes to phenotypes. Topics covered in this timely book range from (i) genome sequencing and genotyping techniques, (ii) genome features such as centromeres and epigenetic regulation, (iii) tools and resources available for trait genomics, to (iv) applications of allele mining and genomics-assisted breeding. This book is a valuable resource for researchers and students interested in maize genetics and genomics.

Since the 1980s, agriculture and plant breeding have changed with the development of molecular marker technology. In recent decades, different types of molecular markers have been used for different purposes: mapping, marker-assisted selection, characterization of genetic resources, etc. These have produced effective genotyping, but the results have been costly and time-consuming due to the small number of markers that could be tested simultaneously. Recent advances in molecular marker technologies such as the development of high-throughput genotyping platforms, genotyping by sequencing, and the release of the genome sequences of major crop plants have opened new possibilities for advancing crop improvement. This Special Issue collects 16 research studies, including the application of molecular markers in 11 crop species, from the generation of linkage maps and diversity studies to the application of marker-assisted selection and genomic prediction.

This Special Issue on molecular genetics, genomics, and biotechnology in crop plant breeding seeks to encourage the use of the tools currently available. It features nine research papers that address quality traits, grain yield, and mutations by exploring cytoplasmic male sterility, the delicate control of flowering in rice, the removal of anti-nutritional factors, the use and development of new technologies for non-model species marker technology, site-directed mutagenesis and GMO regulation, genomics selection and genome-wide association studies, how to cope with abiotic stress, and an exploration of fruit trees adapted to harsh environments for breeding purposes. A further four papers review the genetics of pre-harvest spouting, readiness for climate-smart crop development, genomic selection in the breeding of cereal crops, and the large numbers of mutants in straw lignin biosynthesis and deposition.

This book presents the latest advances in rice genomics, genetics and breeding, with a special focus on their importance for rice biology and how they are breathing new life into traditional genetics. Rice is the main staple food for more than half of the world’s population. Accordingly, sustainable rice production is a crucial issue, particularly in Asia and Africa, where the population continues to grow at an alarming rate. The book’s respective chapters offer new and timely perspectives on the synergistic effects of genomics and genetics in novel rice breeding approaches, which can help address the urgent issue of providing enough food for a global population that is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050.

This book presents state-of-the-art, authoritative chapters on contemporary issues in the broad areas of quantitative genetics, genomics and plant breeding. Section 1 (Chapters 2 to 12) emphasizes the application of genomics, and genome and epigenome editing techniques, in plant breeding; bioinformatics; quantitative trait loci mapping; and the latest approaches of examining and exploiting genotype-environment interactions. Section 2 (Chapters 13 to 20) represents the intersection of breeding, genetics and genomics. This section describes the use of cutting-edge molecular breeding and quantitative genetics techniques in wheat, rice, maize, root and tuber crops and pearl millet. Overall, the book focuses on using genomic information to help evaluate traits that can combat biotic/abiotic stresses, genome-wide association mapping, high-throughput genotyping/phenotyping, biofortification, use of big data, orphan crops, and gene editing techniques. The examples featured are taken from across crop science research and cover a wide geographical base.