This book sets out to explore the application and impact of biotechnology on the assessment of plant genetic variation, its conservation and utilization. Biotechnology promises to make significant contributions in the fields of health care, food safety, environmental protection, bioindustrial processing and the development of sustainable forms of agriculture. A veritable Pandora's box of applications for genome research has been opened. Although much of the focus in the plant sciences has been on the direct manipulation of plant genomes where the newer techniques form an important adjunct to more traditional methods of plant breeding, the rise of biotechnology has also catalysed a renewed emphasis on the importance of biological and genetic diversity and its conservation, an area which has, in recent years, attracted growing public and scientific interest and political support. The methods of biotechnology now permit a more rapid and deeper understanding of both species and their genetic diversity, the mechanisms by which that variation is generated in nature, and the significance of that variation in the adaptation of plants to their environment. They allow the development of rapid methods for screening germplasm for specific characters, including the presence of disease-causing organisms. They promote more effective conservation strategies by helping to define the extent of genetic deversity thus allowin rational decision-making on the collection and management of genetic resources. Tissue culture-based techniques are available for conserving germplasm that cannot be maintained by more traditional methods. The understanding of natural diversity at the molecular level in areas such as pest and disease resistance and secondary metabolic pathways provides novel opportunities for the improvement of crops and in developing recombinant routes to high-value plant products. The ever-improving development of technologies for direct gene manipulation in crop plants offers a virtually unlimited gene pool for the plant breeder to exploit. The information stemming from these molecular and cellular technologies is increasingly underpinned by sophisticated and comprehensive informatics systems which enable information on plant genetics and molecular biology to be cross-related to systematic, ecological and other data through international networks.
