From Plant Genomics to Plant Biotechnology (Woodhead Publishing Series in Biomedicine)

Summary: With the appearance of methods for the sequencing of genomes and less expensive next generation sequencing methods, we face rapid advancements of the -omics technologies and plant biology studies: SuperSAGE, RNA sequencing, TILLING and collections of plant mutants, reverse and forward genetics (tissue specific expression and gene silencing), functional genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, the movement at distance of effectors (hormones, microRNAs, RNA binding proteins) and structural biology. This book covers these issues, showing how such technologies are influencing the plant field in sectors such as the selection of plant varieties and plant breeding, selection of optimum agronomic traits, stress-resistant varieties, improvement of plant fitness, improving crop yield, and non-food applications in the knowledge based bio-economy. About the editors: Dr Palmiro Poltronieri is researcher at the Agrofood Department of the Italian National Research Council. He is cofounder of Biotecgen SME - a service company involved in European projects (FP VI STREP Novel roles for non-coding RNAs -RIBOREG- and the FP VII ABSTRESS, starting in 2012), developing molecular tools such as Ribochip DNA arrays, and protein chip tools. He is Associate Editor to BMC Research Notes. He holds a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Verona University, 1995, and from 1996 to 1997 was \'Japanese Society for Promotion of Science\' post-doctoral fellow at Tsukuba University. Since 1999 as a researcher for the NRC he has been studying plant protease inhibitors, and their applications. Current interest is on the water stress response in roots of tolerant and sensitive chickpea varieties, activating the jasmonic acid synthesis pathway at different timing. Dr Natalija Burbulis is currently head of the agrobiotechnology laboratory and professor at the Crop Science and Animal Husbandry Department of the Aleksandr Stulginskis University (Lithuania). She holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural science obtained from the Lithuanian University of Agriculture, and for 10 years performed research in plant biotechnology, physiology and biochemistry. Current studies are in vitro selection of oilseed crops (rapeseed and linseed) - genotypes with important agronomic traits, including disease resistance, cold tolerance and oil quality improvements. Professor Corrado Fogher, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Genetics and Responsible for the transgenic plants sector of the Observatory on Transgenic Organisms in Agriculture at the Faculty of Agricultural Science of the Catholic University, Piacenza, Italy. He was NATO Fellow (1982-83) at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Researcher (1984-85) at the Department of Cellular Physiology and Molecular Genetics of the Pasteur Institute, Paris, and Visiting scientist (summer of 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995) at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California. He is Author or co-author of more than 70 peer-reviewed papers. He is Research Director of thee SMEs, Plantechno, Incura and SunChem. Contents: From plant genomics to -omics technologies; Plant microRNAs; Epigenetic control by plant Polycomb proteins: new perspectives and emerging roles in stress response; Metabolite profiling for plant research; The uniqueness of conifers; Cryptochrome genes modulate global transcriptome of tomato; Genomics of grapevine: from genomics research on model plants to crops and from science to grapevine breeding; Grapevine genomics and phenotypic diversity of bud sports, varieties and wild relatives; Peach ripening transcriptomics unveils new and unexpected targets for the improvement of drupe quality; Application of doubled haploid technology in breeding of Brassica napus; Plant biodiversity and biotechnology; Natural resveratrol bioproduction