Plant Biotechnology

Plant Biotechnology provides an introduction to the fundamental life processes and reviews topics relevant to plant biotechnology. This book discusses the manipulation of biological systems to solve practical problems in industry or agriculture. Organized into four parts encompassing 18 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the fundamental techniques essential to plant biotechnology. This text then describes the various aspects of the regulation of gene expression in plants and reviews the molecular architecture of plant genes. Other chapters consider chloroplast genome from various organisms and present the practical examples of the significance and uses of biotechnology in crop improvement. This book discusses as well the methods for inducing plant gene expression in heterologous prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems. The final chapter deals with the potential for using gene transfer technology for crop improvement. This book is a valuable resource for plant physiologists, biochemists, plant scientists, genetic engineers, and evolutionary biologists.

PrefaceIntroductionPart I. Basic Techniques in Plant Biotechnology 1. Vectors for Gene Transfer in Higher Plants 1.1 Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation 1.2 Agrobacterium Vectors 1.3 Uses of Agrobacterium Vectors 1.4 Host Range of Agrobacterium 1.5 Alternative DNA Transfer Methods 1.6 Conclusions References 2. Methods for Transforming Plant Cells 2.1 Transformation of Dicotyledenous Plants 2.2 Transformation of Monocotyledenous Plants 2.3 Conclusions and Future Prospects Addendum References 3. Techniques in Plant Cell and Tissue Culture 3.1 Clonal Propagation 3.2 Somaclonal Variation 3.3 Gametoclonal Variation 3.4 In Vitro Cell Selection-Mutant Isolation 3.5 Protoplast Fusion 3.6 Synthesis of Secondary Products 3.7 Concluding Remarks References 4. Selected Topics in the Genetic Manipulation of the Nuclear Genome 4.1 Chromosome Transfer 4.2 Microcell Transfer 4.3 Microinjection 4.4 Conclusion References 5. Regulation and Expression of Plant Genes in Microorganisms 5.1 Recognition of Plant Sequences that Function as Promoters of Transcription in Microorganisms 5.2 Increasing the Rate of Transcription of Cloned Genes 5.3 Translational Features of Plant Gene Expression and Regulation 5.4 Recognition of Plant Signal Peptides 5.5 Assembly of Multisubunit Plant Proteins 5.6 Production of Proteins for Commercial Applications and Analytical Studies 5.7 Synthesis of Plant Proteins for Screening and Clone Identification 5.8 Complementation of Bacterial Mutations 5.9 Protein Stability, Solubility, and Accumulation 5.10 Expression in Other Bacterial Species ReferencesPart II. Regulation of Gene Expression in Plants 6. The Molecular Architecture of Plant Genes and their Regulation 6.1 The Elements of Primary Structure 6.2 The Analysis of Primary Structure 6.3 Functional Organization of Genes 6.4 The Use of Computers in Structural Analyses 6.5 Storage Protein Genes 6.6 Light-Induced Genes 6.7 Stress-Induced Genes 6.8 Nodulation Genes 6.9 Housekeeping Genes 6.10 Conclusion References 7. Induction, Commitment, and Progression of Plant Embryogenesis 7.1 Developmental Biology of Embryogenesis 7.2 Somatic Embryogenesis 7.3 Gene Expression in Carrot Culture 7.4 Immunological Approach to the Identification of Developmentally Regulated Genes 7.5 Conclusion References 8. Photoregulation of Gene Expression in Plants 8.1 Effects of Light on rRNA Gene Expression 8.2 Effects of Light on Transcript Abundance 8.3 Effects of Plant Hormones 8.4 Chloroplast Transcript Accumulation 8.5 Plastid Development and Nuclear Gene Expression 8.6 Gene Transfer Experiments 8.7 Trans-Acting Factors and Transcription In Vitro 8.8 Conclusion References 9. Hormonal and Stress Regulation of Gene Expression in Cereal Aleurone Layers 9.1 The Cereal Aleurone Layers 9.2 Effect of Gibberellins on Gene Expression 9.3 Effect of ABA on Gene Expression 9.4 Summary and Perspective References 10. Auxin-Regulated Gene Expression in Plants 10.1 Enhancement of Specific Translational Products by IAA in Pea Tissue 10.2 Isolation of DNA Sequences Complementary to Some IAA-Regulated mRNAs in Pea 10.3 Characterization of the Hormonal Response 10.4 Dose Response Curve 10.5 Model for Regulation of the Auxin Genes 10.6 Conclusions and Future Directions References 11.