CRC PLNT CYTOGENE PDF

Preface

Gregor Johann Mendel, a monk in the Augustinian monastery at Brün, Austria (now Brno, The Czech Republic), conceived and delivered the science of genetics to the scientific world in 1865. Unfortunately, the invaluable treasure was buried in libraries until 1900, when three scientists, Carl Correns (Germany), Hugo de Vries (The Netherlands), and Erich von Tschermak (Austria), independently, unearthed Mendel’s laws. Three years later, Walter Sutton and Theodor Boveri (1903) proposed the chromosomal theory of inheritance, creating the science of cytogenetics. The pioneering cytogenetic investigations in maize, Datura , and Drosophila during the early 20th century showed that an individual has a fixed number of chromosomes. The genes are located on the chromosomes and are inherited precisely by mitosis and meiosis. Alteration in the genetic material induces mutations. Since its inception, cytogenetics has exploded in many disciplines, involving organisms ranging from viruses to mammals. The dawn of the 21st century entered into sequencing of the entire genome of the human and many crops.

Plant cytogenetics is progressing at an extremely rapid pace since the publication of the first edition of Plant Cytogenetics by CRC Press in 1993. The time is ripe to update this book (second edition) in an encyclopedic fashion that includes two new chapters on the mode of reproduction in plants and transgenic crops. The introduction flows directly into the stream of classical and modern cytological techniques after a brief exposure to Mendelism and major chronological discoveries in the science of genetics. The handling of plant chromosomes assembled in Chapter 2 has undergone monumental progress. Precise identification and nomenclature of plant chromosomes from aceto-carmine and Feulgen staining techniques have progressed to Giemsa banding, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and sorting and karyotyping of chromosomes by flow cytometry. Several protocols for determining nuclear DNA content by flow cytometry have been formulated and perfected. Cell division is a complex and mysterious phenomenon, and it has not been completely understood. Chapter 3 (cell division — mitosis and meiosis) and Chapter 4 (genetic control of meiosis) present mainly classical descriptions of mitosis and meiosis in the higher plants. The mode of reproduction (sexual, asexual, and sex chromosomes) in the higher plants is described in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 includes chromosome nomenclature based on kinetochore position on chromosomes, karyotyping by aceto-carmine, and Giemsa C- and N-banding methods. Chromosome numbers of some economically important plants are presented in one of the appendices (6-I.). Chapter 7 discusses chromosomal aberrations (structural and numerical chromosome changes). Utilization of primary, secondary, and tertiary gene pools for crop improvement depends upon the comprehension of genomic relationships between the cultigen and allied species and genera. Genomic relationship established based on cytogenetics and verified by biochemical and molecular methods is presented in Chapter 8. The cause of morphological aberrations in transformants from cell and tissue culture is described in Chapter 9. The dazzling progress achieved since 1986 in producing genetically modified organisms (GMO) by private and public institutions is briefly elaborated in Chapter 10. I have provided an adequate literature citation; it covers publications from ancient to the present. The effectiveness of the second edition was improved by including an extensive glossary. The appendices include recipes for rescuing immature embryos and karyotyping by flow cytometry and the current linkage map of barley.

I am optimistic that this book will be accepted by plant cytogeneticists and will encourage students to receive training in the exciting field of plant cytogenetics.