This book covers the biotechnology of all the major fruit and nut species. Since the very successful first edition of this book in 2004, there has been rapid progress for many fruit and nut species in cell culture, genomics and genetic transformation, especially for citrus and papaya. This book covers both these cutting-edge technologies and regeneration pathways, protoplast culture, in vitro mutagenesis, ploidy manipulation techniques that have been applied to a wider range of species. Three crop species, Diospyros kaki (persimmon), Punica granatum (pomegranate) and Eriobotrya japonica (loquat) are included for the first time. The chapters are organized by plant family to make it easier to make comparisons and exploitation of work with related species. Each chapter discusses the plant family and the related wild species for 38 crop species, and has colour illustrations. It is essential for scientists and post graduate students who are engaged in the improvement of fruit, nut and plantation crops.

The FAO international symposium on “The role of agricultural biotechnologies in sustainable food systems and nutrition” took place from 15 to 17 February 2016 at FAO headquarters, Rome. Over 400 people attended, including 230 delegates from 75 member countries and the European Union, as well as representatives of intergovernmental organizations, private sector entities, civil society organizations, academia/research organizations and producer organizations/cooperatives. The symposium encompassed the crop, livestock, forestry and fishery sectors and was organized around three main themes: i) climate change; ii) sustainable food systems and nutrition; and iii) people, policies, institutions and communities. The proceedings provide the main highlights of the symposium which covered a broad range of biotechnologies, from low-tech approaches such as those involving use of microbial fermentation processes, biofertilizers, biopesticides and artificial insemination, to high-tech approaches suc h as those involving advanced DNA-based methodologies and genetically modified organisms. The full report has been divided into sections and individual chapters for ease of downloading: Introduction to the Proceedings Chapter 1. Opening plenary session Chapter 2. High-level ministerial session Chapter 3. Parallel sessions: Climate change Chapter 4. Parallel sessions: Sustainable food systems and nutrition Chapter 5. Parallel sessions: People, policies, institutions and communities Chapter 6. Student interactive session: Bringing fresh perspectives Chapter 7. Side events: Reports Chapter 8. Final plenary session For more information, visit the webpage http://www.fao.org/about/meetings/agribiotechs-symposium/en/.

In June 1970, a diverse group of scientists attended the International Symposium on the Biology of the Sipuncula and Echiura at the Marine Biological Station in Kotor, Yugoslavia. Forty-two years later in June 2012, an aspiring generation of like-minded scientists convened the Second International Symposium on the Biology of the Sipuncula (ISBS2) along the banks of the Fort Pierce Inlet to the Indian River Lagoon in Florida, USA. The primary objective of the second symposium was to collect the world's dedicated sipunculan biologists in one place for a long overdue face-to-face communication of past, present and future research. We met our objective. This proceedings volume includes a brief summary of workshop discussions and field events, and a compilation of selected research papers presented by an international group of sixteen scientists from twelve nations in attendance at the ISBS2. Herein, we highlight molecular, developmental, morphological, ecological and biogeographic diversity of adult and larval sipunculans. And, we introduce several of the outstanding research challenges associated with resolving sipunculan interrelationships, establishing standard sets of taxonomic characters, refining methods for identification of cryptic species, reconstructing an evolutionary framework of developmental life history patterns, and addressing implications of recent phylogenetic and phylogenomic hypotheses that have relocated the ancient radiation of unsegmented sipunculan body plans within the predominantly segmented Annelida.--Provided by publisher.