Plant Biotechnology : Methods in Tissue Culture and Gene Transfer

Contents: Foreword. Preface. 1. Biotechnology in Indian agriculture/R. Keshavachandran and K.V. Peter. 2. The cell biology of plant cell culture and development/K. Nirmal Babu, S.P. Geetha, A. Anu, D. Minoo and V. Sumathi. 3. Hormonal regulation of in vitro morphogenesis/P.A. Nazeem and P.S. Smitha. 4. Maintenance of asepsis in tissue culture/D. Girija. 5. Micropropagation--principles and practices/R. Keshavachandran and Sandhya Sudhan. 6. Media requirements of In Vitro culture/R. Keshavachandran and Sandhya Sudhan. 7. Haploid production/JB Mythili and Pious Thomas. 8. Triploid production/Pious Thomas and JB Mythili. 9. In vitro pollination and fertilization/NZ Rangaswamy and KR Shivanna. 10. Embryo culture/K. Rajmohan. 11. Protoplast isolation and culture/Pratap Kumar Pati, Madhu Sharma and Paramvir Singh Ahuja. 12. Somatic hybridization/Pratap Kumar Pati, Madhu Sharma and Paramvir Singh Ahuja. 13. In vitro selection with plant cell, tissue and organ cultures/P. Vidhyasekaran. 14. Synthetic seeds/P. Suprasanna, TR Ganapathi, VA Bapat and PS Rao. 15. Methods of genetic transformation in plants/KC Bansal, R. Keshavachandran and Sandhya Sudhan. 16. Germplasm storage/Rekha Chaudhury and SK Malik. 17. GM technology and biosafety regulations/Renu Swarup. 18. Patents in biotechnology/Malathi Lakshmikumaran, Shilpi Bhattacharya and Nilanjana Sensarkar. 19. Molecular markers and their applications in plant species/Malathi Lakshmikumaran, V. Sabharwal, N. Chauhan and MS Negi. 20. Useful genes for plant genetic engineering/P. Rajendran. 21. Biotechnology in the conservation of medicinal and aromatic plants/S. Natesh. Index.

"In the face of growing demand for more food crops, agricultural yield is challenged by two concerns: availability of arable land and reduced water resources for irrigation. Biotechnology offers several tools that can be used appropriately for sustainable agriculture. Recent advances in molecular biology and recombinant DNA Technology can make improved production and pest resistant crops with increased nutritive value a reality.

The book has 21 chapters contributed by eminent scientists from all over the country. It discusses the various techniques and aspects of plant tissue culture and gene transfer that can bring about crop improvement. The topics discussed include:

Hormonal regulation.
Micropropagation.
In vitro pollination and fertilization.
Embryo culture.
Protoplast isolation and culture.
Somatic hybridization.
Synthetic seeds.
Methods of genetic transformation in plants.
Germplasm storage.
GM technology, biosafety regulations and patents.
Molecular markers.
Conservation of medicinal and aromatic plants.
 
The book will be useful for all undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers studying plant biotechnology."