Palynology finds applications in various fields. Some of them are taxonomy, plant evolution, plant breeding programmes, biotechnology, microbiology of water, soil and air, the pharmaceutical industry, cosmetic industry, energy food industry, forensic science, aerobiology, allergy, epidemiology, meteorology, fossil fuel exploration and biodiversity. On account of these applications, palynology has gained a lot of importance and is attracting different scientific disciplines. Published literature on the above aspects is widely scattered.

This book reports on the current global status of mungbean and its economic importance. Mungbean (Vigna radiata)-also called green gram-is an important food and cash crop in the rice-based farming systems of South and Southeast Asia, but is also grown in other parts of the world. Its short duration, low input requirement and high global demand make mungbean an ideal rotation crop for smallholder farmers. The book describes mungbean collections maintained by various organizations and their utilization, especially with regard to adapting mungbean to new environments. It provides an overview of the progress made in breeding for tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses; nutritional quality enhancement including genomics approaches; and outlines future challenges for mungbean cultivation. In addition, genomic approaches to evaluating the evolutionary relationship between Vigna species and addressing questions concerning domestication, adaptation and genotype-phenotype relationships are also discussed

This book is an outgrowth of a UNESCO regional workshop entitled Culture Collection and Breeding of Edible Mushrooms. The purpose of the workshop is to provide participants with information on the principles and techniques involved in the genetics and breeding of edible mushrooms.

The author offers an overview of pollen biology and biotechnology for students and researchers in areas such as reproductive biology, biotechnology, aeropalynology, plant breeding, horticulture, and forestry. Citing more than 1,500 references to pollen research, the text covers topics including advances in understanding pollen tube growth, the use of pollen for gene transfer, and advantages and disadvantages of various pollination systems for production of species limits.

"Diagnostics in Plant Breeding" is systematically organizing cutting-edge research reviews on the development and application of molecular tools for the prediction of plant performance. Given its significance for mankind and the available research resources, medical sciences are leading the area of molecular diagnostics, where DNA-based risk assessments for various diseases and biomarkers to determine their onset become increasingly available. So far, most research in plant genomics has been directed towards understanding the molecular basis of biological processes or phenotypic traits. From a plant breeding perspective, however, the main interest is in predicting optimal genotypes based on molecular information for more time- and cost-efficient breeding schemes. It is anticipated that progress in plant genomics and in particular sequence technology made recently will shift the focus from "explanatory" to "predictive" in crop science. This book assembles chapters on all areas relevant to development and application of predictive molecular tools in plant breeding by leading authorties in the respective areas.

Current trends in population growth hint that global food production is unlikely to gratify future demands under predicted climate change scenarios unless the rates of crop improvement are accelerated. Crop production faces numerous challenges, due to changing environmental conditions and evolving needs for new plant-derived materials. These challenges come at a time when the plant sciences are witnessing remarkable progress in understanding fundamental processes of plant growth and development. Drought, heat, cold and salinity are among the major abiotic stresses that often cause a series of morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular alterations which adversely affect plant growth, development andproductivity, consequently posing a serious challenge for sustainable food production in large parts of the world, particularly in emerging countries. This emphasizes the urgency of finding better ways to translate new advances in plant science into concrete successes in agricultural production. To overcome the pessimistic influence of abiotic stresses and to maintain the food security in the face of these challenges, new, improved and tolerant crop varieties, contemporary breeding techniques, and cavernous understanding of the mechanisms that counteract detrimental climate changes are indubitably needed to sustain the requisite food supply. In this context, "Improvement of Crops in the Era of Climatic Changes, Volume 1 "provides a state-of-the-art guide to recent developments that aid in the understanding of plant responses to abiotic stresses and lead to new horizons vis-a-vis prime strategies for translating current researchinto applied solutions to create strong yields and overall crop improvement under such unfavourable environments.

Written by a diversegroup of internationally famed scholars, "Improvement of Crops in the Era of Climatic Changes, Volume 1" is a brief yet all-inclusive resource that is immensely advantageous for researchers, students, environmentalists, soil scientists, professionals, and many others in the quest of advancement in this flourishing field of research."

This book presents comprehensive information on genetics, genomics and breeding in Brassica oleracea, an agriculturally important species that includes popular vegetable crops such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, collard greens, savoy, kohlrabi, and gai lan. The content spans whole genome sequencing, assembly and gene annotation for this global vegetable species, along with molecular mapping and cloning of genes, physical genome mapping and analyses of the structure and composition of centromeres in the B. oleracea genome. The book also elaborates on asymmetrical genome evolution and transposable elements in the B. oleracea describes gene family differentiation in comparison to other Brassica species and structural and functional genomic resources and data bases developed for B. oleracea. Useful discussions on the impact of genome sequencing on genetic improvement in the species are also included.

This edited book brings out a comprehensive collection of information on the modern omics-based research. The main focus of this book is to educate researchers about utility of omics-based technologies in rapid crop improvement. In last two decades, omics technologies have been utilized significantly in the area of plant sciences and has shown promising results. Omics technology has potential to address the challenge of food security in the near future. The comprehensive use of omics technology occurred in last two decades and helped greatly in the understanding of complex biological problems, improve crop productivity and ensure sustainable use of ecosystem services. This book is of interest to researchers and students of life sciences, biotechnology, plant biotechnology, agriculture, forestry, and environmental sciences. It is also a useful knowledge resource for national and international agricultural scientists.

Over the last decade considerable progress has been made in white biotechnology research and further major scientific and technological breakthroughs are expected in the future. The first large-scale industrial applications of modern biotechnology have been in the areas of food and animal feed production (agricultural/green biotechnology) and in pharmaceuticals (medical/red biotechnology). In contrast, the productions of bioactive compounds through fermentation or enzymatic conversion are known as industrial or white biotchnology. The fungi are ubiquitous in nature and have been sorted out from different habitats, including extreme environments (high temperature, low temperature, salinity and pH); and associated with plants (Epiphytic, Endophytic and Rhizospheric). The fungal strains are beneficial as well as harmful for human beings. The beneficial fungal strains may play important roles in the agricultural, industrial, and medical sectors. The fungal strains and its product (enzymes, bioactive compounds, and secondary metabolites) are very useful for industry (e.g., the discovery of penicillin from Penicillium chrysogenum). This discovery was a milestone in the development of white biotechnology as the industrial production of penicillin and antibiotics using fungi moved industrial biotechnology into the modern era, transforming it into a global industrial technology. Since then, white biotechnology has steadily developed and now plays a key role in several industrial sectors providing both high value nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products. The fungal strains and bioactive compounds also play an important role in environmental cleaning. This volume covers the latest research developments related to value-added products in white biotechnology through fungi.

Spirulena Platensis, a blue-green algae, has been recognized and used worldwide as a traditional source of protein in the food industry. The uses and mass cultivation of this algae have risen substantially due to an increased understanding of its biological systems. This text contains detailed descriptions of both the biology and the biotechnological uses of Spirulena Platensis. Part One focuses on the physiology, morphology, photosyntheses and genetics of laboratory cultures. Part Two discusses the practical uses in biotechnology industries, such as: the cultivation on flat-plate reactors; mass cultures outdoors; uses in wastewater treatment and the use of biomass. It offers critiques of the problems encountered and discussions of the future commercial prospects for large-scale production.

The coconut palm occupies a significant place in the world economy as an important subsistence crop in all the areas in which it is grown. Relatively few countries are able to export any quantity of coconut products because of increasing home demands coupled with low productivity. Yields are generally well below potential despite recent developments with improved planting stock and agronomic practices. In the last 50 years, both these aspects have received considerable attention, but the focus is shifting to investigate how the use of recently developed biotechnological techniques- can benefit the coconut industry. This volume, the result of the International Symposium on Coconut Biotechnology (held in December 1997 in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico), describes recent research in three important areas. Standard plant breeding techniques used with coconut have produced improved planting material, but progress is inevitably very slow. Can more rapid genetic improvement be obtained using molecular techniques? The papers presented in this section suggest that such techniques will open up exciting new prospects, but only after basic information has been gathered on the genetic status of existing coconut stocks. Research using microsatellite techniques seems to provide a useful tool to help to classifying these stocks. However, only a combination of classical breeding methods with modem techniques will lead to the rapid improvement which is required to supply material for urgent replanting programs.

This text is intended for plant physiologists, molecular biologists, biochemists, biotechnologists, geneticists, horticulturalists, agromnomists and botanists, and upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines. It integrates advances in the diverse and rapidly-expanding field of seed science, from ecological and demographic aspects of seed production, dispersal and germination, to the molecular biology of seed development. The book offers a broad, multidisciplinary approach that covers both theoretical and applied knowledge.

Mitochondria are the product of a long evolutionary history. It is now a well established fact that mitochondria did evolve from free living bacteria being the common ancestor of both, eukaryotic mitochondria and -proteobacteria. Advances in genome sequencing, the establishment of in organello and in vitro assays to name only a few, contributed significantly to advances in plant mitochondrial research. Second generation sequencing and the ability to directly sequence and analyse the whole plant transcriptome certainly will help to develop the research on plant mitochondria to another level in the future. In this book the current knowledge about plant mitochondria is presented in a series of detailed chapters, which have been organized in five main sections: (i) dynamics, genes and genomes; (ii) transcription and RNA processing; (iii) translation and import; (iv) biochemistry, regulation and function; and (v) mitochondrial dysfunction and repair. These sections consist of two to five chapters, each written by well-known specialists in the field. This book thus provides a comprehensive inside in the field of plant mitochondria for the specialist. The addition of a glossary and text boxes to each chapter provides easy access for readers from other subjects and hopefully will attract young scientist to the fascinating and exiting field of plant mitochondria."

Apomixis in Plants presents a comprehensive review of different aspects of asexual seed formation in plants. This is important in plant research since apomixis could greatly facilitate breeding in important crops. It is also interesting theoretically because it carries problems related to genetic variation and evolution to its extreme. The book features a broad selection of topics, including a historical review of ideas and landmarks in the field; comparisons with other types of asexual reproduction in higher plants and with related phenomena in animals and related plants; a presentation of cytology and embryology of apomicts and the diversified terminology in the field; views on the genetic background of apomixis and environmental effects on its expression; and the interrelation between apomixis and other traits. Additional topics covered include classical and modern theories of sexual versus asexual reproduction; geographical and taxonomical trends in apomicts; ecological implications of apomixis, and a review of future possibilities for using apomixis in plant breeding. Apomixis in Plants is an important reference volume for researchers and students in all areas of botany, ecology, and plant breeding.

The cropping system is one of the important components of sustainable agriculture, since it provides more efficient nutrient cycling. As such, balanced fertilization must be based on the concept of sustainable crop production. Feeding the rapidly growing world population using environmentally sustainable production systems is a major challenge, especially in developing countries. A number of studies have highlighted the fact that degradation of the world's cultivated soils is largely responsible for low and plateauing yields. Soil is lost rapidly but only formed over millennia, and this represents the greatest global threat to nutrient dynamics in agriculture. This means that nutrient management is essential to provide food and nutritional security for current and future generations. Nutrient dynamics and soil sustainability imply the maintenance of the desired ecological balance, the enhancement and preservation of soil functions, and the protection of biodiversity above and below ground. Understanding the role of nutrient management as a tool for soil sustainability and nutritional security requires a holistic approach to a wide range of soil parameters (biological, physical, and chemical) to assess the soil functions and nutrient dynamics of a crop management system within the desired timescale. Further, best nutrient management approaches are important to advance soil sustainability and food and nutritional security without compromising the soil quality and productive potential. Sustainable management practices must allow environmentally and economically sustainable yields and restore soil health and sustainability. This book presents soil management approaches that can provide a wide range of benefits, including improved fertility, with a focus on the importance of nutrient dynamics. Discussing the broad impacts of nutrients cycling on the sustainability of soil and the cropping systems that it supports, it also addresses nutrient application to allow environmentally and economically sustainable agroecosystems that restore soil health. Arguing that balanced fertilization must be based on the concept of INM for a cropping system rather than a crop, it provides a roadmap to nutrient management for sustainability. This richly illustrated book features tables, figures and photographs and includes extensive up-to-date references, making it a valuable resource for policymakers and researchers, as well as undergraduate and graduate students of Soil Science, Agronomy, Ecology and Environmental Sciences.

Sorghum is one of the hardiest crop plants in modern agriculture and also one of the most versatile. Its seeds provide calorie for food and feed, stalks for building and industrial materials and its juice for syrup. This book provides an in-depth review of the cutting-edge knowledge in sorghum genetics and its applications in sorghum breeding. Each chapter is authored by specialists in their fields to report the latest trends and findings. The book showcases the definitive value of sorghum as a model system to study the genetic basis of crop productivity and stress tolerance and will provide a foundation for future studies in sorghum genetics, genomics, and breeding.

This book offers comprehensive information on the genomics of spruces (Picea spp.), naturally abundant conifer tree species that are widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. Due to their tremendous ecological and economic importance, the management of forest genetic resources has chiefly focused on conservation and tree improvement. A draft genome sequence of the 20-gigabase Norway spruce genome was published in the journal Nature in 2013. Continuous efforts to improve the spruce genome assembly are underway, but are hindered by the inherent characteristics of conifer genomes: high amounts of repetitive sequences (introns and transposable elements) in the genome and large gene family expansions with regards to abiotic stress, secondary metabolism and spruces' defense responses to pathogens and herbivory. This book presents the latest information on the status of genome assemblies, provides detailed insights into transposable elements and methylation patterns, and highlights the extensive genomic resources available for inferring population genomics and climate adaptation, as well as emerging genomics tools for tree improvement programs. In addition, this volume features whole-genome comparisons among conifer species, and demonstrates how functional genomics can be used to improve gene function annotations. The book closes with an outlook on emerging fields of research in spruce genomics.

This edited book brings out a comprehensive collection of information on the modern omics-based research. The main focus of this book is to educate researchers about utility of omics-based technologies in rapid crop improvement. In last two decades, omics technologies have been utilized significantly in the area of plant sciences and has shown promising results. Omics technology has potential to address the challenge of food security in the near future. The comprehensive use of omics technology occurred in last two decades and helped greatly in the understanding of complex biological problems, improve crop productivity and ensure sustainable use of ecosystem services. This book is of interest to researchers and students of life sciences, biotechnology, plant biotechnology, agriculture, forestry, and environmental sciences. It is also a useful knowledge resource for national and international agricultural scientists.

Quantitative modeling of Mendelian genetics Quantitative Genetics with Special Reference to Plant and Animal Breeding provides authoritative guidance on improving genetic material in breeding programs through the application of Mendelian genetics. Beginning with a brief background on genetic modeling and breeding programs, the book compares breeding procedures and selection approaches while offering expert guidance on mathematical and Mendelian representation of various schema. Highly detailed and practically-focused with clear guidance on methods and calculations, this guide provides invaluable reference for the design of breeding programs in the laboratory or agricultural industry.

Fungi are an understudied, biotechnologically valuable group of organisms. Due to their immense range of habitats, and the consequent need to compete against a diverse array of other fungi, bacteria, and animals, fungi have developed numerous survival mechanisms. However, besides their major basic positive role in the cycling of minerals, organic matter and mobilizing insoluble nutrients, fungi have other beneficial impacts: they are considered good sources of food and active agents for a number of industrial processes involving fermentation mechanisms as in the bread, wine and beer industry. A number of fungi also produce biologically important metabolites such as enzymes, vitamins, antibiotics and several products of important pharmaceutical use; still others are involved in the production of single cell proteins. The economic value of these marked positive activities has been estimated as approximating to trillions of US dollars. The unique attributes of fungi thus herald great promise for their application in biotechnology and industry. Since ancient Egyptians mentioned in their medical prescriptions how they can use green molds in curing wounds as the obvious historical uses of penicillin, fungi can be grown with relative ease, making production at scale viable. The search for fungal biodiversity, and the construction of a living fungi collection, both have incredible economic potential in locating organisms with novel industrial uses that will lead to novel products. Fungi have provided the world with penicillin, lovastatin, and other globally significant medicines, and they remain an untapped resource with enormous industrial potential. Volume 1 of Industrially Important Fungi for Sustainable Development provides an overview to understanding fungal diversity from diverse habitats and their industrial application for future sustainability. It encompasses current advanced knowledge of fungal communities and their potential biotechnological applications in industry and allied sectors. The book will be useful to scientists, researchers, and students of microbiology, biotechnology, agriculture, molecular biology, and environmental biology.

Cotton, the most important natural fiber crop, has been improved by conventional breeding-largely through planned hybridization of different cotton genotypes, since the discovery of Mendelian genetics. All these efforts resulted in the development of resilient high yielding cotton varieties. However, the progress through conventional breeding procedures is slow because of long lag periods for developing a variety, little control over the new genetic combinations, unwanted traits and lack of foolproof performance testing system. Genomic assays discovered over the last two decades have made it possible to understand the "language" of the genome by associating the genes with specific traits. Together with the more recently established gene-editing tools like CRISPR-Cas9, the cotton genome can be tailored much more precisely than ever before. In this regard, genetic information has been harnessed, through (i) sequencing of the progenitor and cultivated cotton species, (ii) ongoing mega pan-genome sequencing projects, (iii) genetic and physical mapping, and (iv) introgression of genes from alien sources, that resulted in the development of resilient cotton cultivars. These technologies have been deployed or are attempting to overcome the challenges of water shortage, excessive heat in most cotton growing regions, infectious diseases and infestation of insect pests, as well as rising production cost, for sustainable cotton production beyond 2030. In this book, new knowledge generated by the cotton research community and its application for developing resilient cotton are comprehensively summarized. This book contributed by well-known cotton researchers is a timely collection of the challenges and successes of precision cotton breeding in a changing environment.

Meiosis is one of the most critical processes in eukaryotes, required for continuation of species and generation of new variation. In plants, meiotic recombination is by far the most important source of genetic variation. In Plant Meiosis: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers in the field detail methods for molecular cytogenetics and chromosome analysis in plants. These state-of -the-art protocols allow studying the organization and behavior of the genetic material in a wide range of both model and crop species. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM)series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step and readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Plant Meiosis: Methods and Protocols provides and extensive list of protocols developed and used in a number of laboratories at the cutting edge of meiosis and chromosome research.

Nanoscience and nanotechnologies are leading to a major point to our understanding of nature. Nanotechnology can be generally defined as creation and use of nano-sized systems, devices, and structures which have special functions or properties because of their small size. This volume on Nanotechnology Applications in Health and Environmental Sciences focuses on biotechnological and environmental applications of nanomaterials. It covers popular and various nanomedical topics such as oncology, genetics, and reconstructive medicine. Additionally, many chapters give leading-edge information on nano-sensor applications and usage in specific disciplines. Also, two chapters on novel subjects have been included on Lantibiotics and microbiota. This book should be useful for nanotechnologists, microbiologists, and researchers interested in nanomedicine and nano-biotechnology, as well as environmental nanotechnology.

Selenium plays a significant role in preventing certain types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The level of Selenium in the human body depends on its concentration in food. In turn, the content in vegetable crops is a function of the soil-plant system. There are many countries in the world with low Selenium content in the soil. The average daily human intake is thus limited through food chain. Analysis of Selenium status suggests that fortification of the soil substrate with Sodium Selenate, and foliar application to agricultural crops are both effective means of Selenium enrichment. Our intention for this publication is to present the possibilities of augmenting Selenium content by biofortification of soils and plants through differentiated nutrition. In the first part of the monograph, the results of Selenium supplementation in model vegetation experiments are presented. The next part of the monograph presents the results of foliar supplementation of Selenium in field conditions. This book is an outstanding reference source for plant breeders and researchers engaged in biofortification of horticulture crops. It is also beneficial to agricultural companies and other stakeholders.

Fungi range from being microscopic, single-celled yeasts to multicellular and heterotrophic in nature. Fungal communities have been found in vast ranges of environmental conditions. They can be associated with plants epiphytically, endophytically, or rhizospherically. Extreme environments represent unique ecosystems that harbor novel biodiversity of fungal communities. Interest in the exploration of fungal diversity has been spurred by the fact that fungi perform numerous functions integral in sustaining the biosphere, ranging from nutrient cycling to environmental detoxification, which involves processes like augmentation, supplementation, and recycling of plant nutrients--a particularly important process in sustainable agriculture. Fungal communities from natural and extreme habitats help promote plant growth, enhance crop yield, and soil fertility via direct or indirect plant growth promoting (PGP) mechanisms of solubilization of phosphorus, potassium, and zinc, production of ammonia, hydrogen cyanides, phytohormones, Fe-chelating compounds, extracellular hydrolytic enzymes, and bioactive secondary metabolites. These PGP fungi could be used as biofertilizers, bioinoculants, and biocontrol agents in place of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in eco-friendly manners for sustainable agriculture and environments. Along with agricultural applications, medically important fungi play significant role for human health. Fungal communities are useful for sustainable environments as they are used for bioremediation which is the use of microorganisms' metabolism to degrading waste contaminants (sewage, domestic, and industrial effluents) into non-toxic or less toxic materials by natural biological processes. Fungi could be used as mycoremediation for the future of environmental sustainability. Fungi and fungal products have the biochemical and ecological capability to degrade environmental organic chemicals and to decrease the risk associated with metals, semi-metals, and noble metals either by chemical modification or by manipulating chemical bioavailability. The two volumes of "Recent Trends in Mycological Research" aim to provide an understanding of fungal communities from diverse environmental habitats and their potential applications in agriculture, medical, environments and industry. The books are useful to scientists, researchers, and students involved in microbiology, biotechnology, agriculture, molecular biology, environmental biology and related subjects.