This book provides a comprehensive coverage of the advances in genetics and genomics research on rice. The chapters feature the latest developments in rice research and cover such topics as the tools and resources for the functional analysis of rice genes, the identification of useful genes for rice improvement, the present understanding of rice development and biological processes, and the application of this present understanding towards rice improvement. The volume also features a perspective on synthesis and prospects, laying the groundwork for future advances in rice genetics and genomics. Written by authorities in the field, Genetics and Genomics of Rice will serve as an invaluable reference for rice researchers for years to come.

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.

Rice blast, caused by the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe grisea, is one of the most destructive rice diseases worldwide and destroys enough rice to feed more than 60 million people annually. Due to high variability of the fungal population in the field, frequent loss of resistance of newly-released rice cultivars is a major restraint in sustainable rice production. In the last few years, significant progress has been made in understanding the defense mechanism of rice and pathogenicity of the fungus. The rice blast system has become a model pathosystem for understanding the molecular basis of plant-fungal interactions due to the availability of both genomes of rice and M. grisea and a large collection of genetic resources. This book provides a complete review of the recent progress and achievements on genetic, genomic and disease control of the disease. Most of the chapters were presented at the 4th International Rice Blast Conference held on October 9-14, 2007 in Changsha, China. This book is a valuable reference not only for plant pathologists and breeders working on rice blast but also for those working on other pathysystems in crop plants.

Together with early theoretical work in population genetics, the debate on sources of genetic makeup initiated by proponents of the neutral theory made a solid contribution to the spectacular growth in statistical methodologies for molecular evolution. Evolutionary Genomics: Statistical and Computational Methods is intended to bring together the more recent developments in the statistical methodology and the challenges that followed as a result of rapidly improving sequencing technologies. Presented by top scientists from a variety of disciplines, the collection includes a wide spectrum of articles encompassing theoretical works and hands-on tutorials, as well as many reviews with key biological insight. Volume 2 begins with phylogenomics and continues with in-depth coverage of natural selection, recombination, and genomic innovation. The remaining chapters treat topics of more recent interest, including population genomics, -omics studies, and computational issues related to the handling of large-scale genomic data. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular BiologyTM series format, this work provides the kind of advice on methodology and implementation that is crucial for getting ahead in genomic data analyses. Comprehensive and cutting-edge, Evolutionary Genomics: Statistical and Computational Methods is a treasure chest of state-of the-art methods to study genomic and omics data, certain to inspire both young and experienced readers to join the interdisciplinary field of evolutionary genomics.

Genetic and Genomic Resources For Cereals Improvement is the first book to bring together the latest available genetic resources and genomics to facilitate the identification of specific germplasm, trait mapping, and allele mining that are needed to more effectively develop biotic and abiotic-stress-resistant grains. As grain cereals, including rice, wheat, maize, barley, sorghum, and millets constitute the bulk of global diets, both of vegetarian and non-vegetarian, there is a greater need for further genetic improvement, breeding, and plant genetic resources to secure the future food supply. This book is an invaluable resource for researchers, crop biologists, and students working with crop development and the changes in environmental climate that have had significant impact on crop production. It includes the latest information on tactics that ensure that environmentally robust genes and crops resilient to climate change are identified and preserved. - Provides a single-volume resource on the global research work on grain cereals genetics and genomics - Presents information for effectively managing and utilizing the genetic resources of this core food supply source - Includes coverage of rice, wheat, maize, barley, sorghum, and pearl, finger and foxtail millets

This book focuses on the conventional breeding approach, and on the latest high-throughput genomics tools and genetic engineering / biotechnological interventions used to improve rice quality. It is the first book to exclusively focus on rice as a major food crop and the application of genomics and genetic engineering approaches to achieve enhanced rice quality in terms of tolerance to various abiotic stresses, resistance to biotic stresses, herbicide resistance, nutritional value, photosynthetic performance, nitrogen use efficiency, and grain yield. The range of topics is quite broad and exhaustive, making the book an essential reference guide for researchers and scientists around the globe who are working in the field of rice genomics and biotechnology. In addition, it provides a road map for rice quality improvement that plant breeders and agriculturists can actively consult to achieve better crop production.

Geneticists contribute on a wide range of topics in this book, from classical genetics to the most advanced research on sequencing of the rice genome and functional genomics. They review advances in rice research and discuss molecular markers, genome organization and gene isolation.