Genomics of Tropical Crop Plants

There is a critical need for a book to assess the genomics of tropical plant species. Early genomics successes resulted in tremendous advances in high throughput technologies and data management that greatly reduced costs and increased rates of data accumulation. In addition, the early plant successes showed that, although Arabidopsis can be a reasonable model for dicots and rice a model for monocots, there is a real need for species-specific genomic information if it is to be used for crop improvement. Thus began programs for developing the genomics of numerous plant crop species with considerable emphasis on tropical plant species. Reasons for this emphasis are that the tropics are recognized as the regions of origin of a large part of genetic diversity with genes and phenotypes not found in temperate plants, and that human population growth is destroying much of the tropical environment and with it the genetic diversity located there. §Remarkable genomics progress has been made in several tropical crop plants, noticeably sorghum and papaya, both of which are undergoing whole genome sequencing. International consortia or networks have been established for a number of tropical crops to mobilize and coordinate resources and efforts towards generating genomic tools and eventual sequencing of the genome for basic biological research and crop improvement. These crops include sugarcane, banana, coffee, citrus, millet, cacao, and peanut. The genomic information generated by these international consortia will enhance the capacity for identification, characterization, and cloning of agronomically important genes of tropical crop plants.§This book covers the recent progress on genome research in tropical crop plants, including the development of molecular markers, genomic and cDNA libraries, expressed sequence tags (ESTs), genetic and physical maps, gene expression profiles, and whole genome sequences. The first section of this book provides background information for tropical agriculture of its crops. The second section consists of concise summaries of genomic research for the economically most important tropical crop plant species. As a comprehensive genomic resource, it is of considerable interest to practicing plant biologists, graduate and undergraduate students, and research professionals such plant breeders and germplasm curators who work on or are interested in tropical plant species.For a long time there has been a critical need for a book to assess the genomics of tropical plant species. At last, here it is. This brilliant book covers recent progress on genome research in tropical crop plants, including the development of molecular markers, and many more subjects. The first section provides information on crops relevant to tropical agriculture. The book then moves on to lay out summaries of genomic research for the most important tropical crop plant species.Tropical crop plants are one of the natural world s most valuable assets. However, the genetic resources of tropical plants are underutilized and in danger of being lost due to the destruction of natural habitats, the high costs of conservation programs, and our lack of appreciation of the worth of these precious resources. Considering the tropical origin of much of the biological diversity that is responsible for genes and phenotypes of temperate crops, there is a critical need for assessing the genomics of tropical plant species. §Genomics of Tropical Crop Plants summarizes recent progress on genomic research, including the development of molecular markers, genomic and cDNA libraries, expressed sequence tags (ESTs), genetic and physical maps, gene expression profiles, and whole genome sequences for 20 tropical crop plants. It offers background information about the evolutionary origin and environments of tropical crop species, international programs that are addressing the needs of tropical agriculture, and the potential for new technologies to increase the productivity and value of tropical crops. This book provides new dimensions to growing information concerning temperate crops and their morphology, physiology, and parallel evolution in diverse plant lineages.§This book will appeal to graduate students, post graduates, researchers, and professionals in plant breeding, genetics, germplasm conservation, and agronomy of tropical crop plants.§About the Editors:§Paul H. Moore is a world authority on tropical plants with a particular focus on sugarcane, papaya, and pineapple. In his almost 40-year career, he has published over 150 papers in highly reputable scientific journals and is considered the foremost expert in sugarcane. He along with Dr. Ming are co-Editors-in-Chief of the new Springer journal, Tropical Plant Biology.§Dr. Ray Ming is an associate professor of plant biology at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois and has done extensive research on papaya, coffee, pineapple, and sugarcane. His expertise includes work on evolution of sex chromosomes in plants, and the structure and organization of the papaya genome.