Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding. George Acquaah
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programs.
Yield gains of cropsWith the dwindling of arable land and the increasing policing of the environment by activists, there is an increasing need to produce more food or other crop products on the same piece of land in a more efficient and environmentally safer manner. High‐yield cultivars will continue to be developed, especially in crops that have received less attention from plant breeders. Breeding for adaptation to environmental stresses (e.g. drought, salt) will continue to be important, and will enable more food to be produced on marginal lands.
The biotechnology debateIt is often said that these modern technologies for plant genetic manipulation benefit developing countries the most since they are in dire need of food, both in quantity and nutritional value. On the other hand, the intellectual property that covers those technologies is owned by giant multinational corporations. Efforts will continue to be made to negotiate fair use of these technologies. Appropriate technology transfers and support to these poor third world nations will continue, to enable them develop capacity for the exploitation of these modern technologies.
Table 1.4 Selected milestones in plant breeding.
| 9000 BCE | First evidence of plant domestication in the hills above the Tigris river. |
| 3000 BCE | Domestication of all important food crops in the Old World completed. |
| 1000 BCE | Domestication of all important food crops in the New World completed. |
| 700 BCE | Assyrians and Babylonians hand pollinate date palm. |
| 1694 | Camerarius of Germany first to demonstrate sex in plants and suggested crossing as a method to obtain new plant types. |
| 1716 | Mather of USA observed natural crossing in maize. |
| 1719 | Fairchild created first artificial hybrid (Carnation × Sweet William). |
| 1727 | Vilmorin Company of France introduced the pedigree method of breeding. |
| 1753 | Linnaeus published “Species Plantarum.” Binomial nomenclature born. |
| 1761–1766 | Koelreuter of Germany demonstrated that hybrid offspring received traits from both parents and were intermediate in most traits; produced first scientific hybrid using tobacco. |
| 1847 | Reid's Yellow Dent maize developed. |
| 1866 | Mendel published his discoveries in “Experiments in plant hybridization,” cumulating in the formulation of laws of inheritance and discovery of unit factors (genes). |
| 1899 | Hopkins described the ear‐to‐row selection method of breeding in maize. |
| 1900 | Mendel's laws of heredity rediscovered independently by Correns of Germany, DeVries of Holland, and von Tschermak of Austria. |
| 1903 | Danish biologist Johannsen developed the pure‐line theory of selection. |
| 1904–1905 | Nilsson‐Ehle proposed the multiple factor explanation for inheritance of color in wheat pericarp. |
| 1908–1909 | Hardy of England and Weinberg of Germany developed the law of equilibrium of populations. |
| 1908–1910 | East published his work on inbreeding. |
| 1909 | Shull conducted extensive research to develop inbreds to produce hybrids. |
| 1917 | Jones developed first commercial hybrid maize. |
| 1926 | Pioneer Hi‐bred Corn Company established as first seed company. |
| 1934 | Dustin discovered colchicines. |
| 1935 | Vavilov published “The scientific basis of plant breeding.” |
| 1940 | Harlan used the bulk breeding selection method in breeding. |
| 1944 | Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty discovered DNA is hereditary material. |
| 1945 | Hull proposed recurrent selection method of breeding. |
| 1950 | McClintock discovered the Ac‐Ds system of transposable elements. |
| 1953 | Watson, Crick, and Wilkins proposed a model for the DNA structure. |
| 1970 | Borlaug received Nobel Prize for the Green Revolution. |
| Berg, Cohen, and Boyer introduced the recombinant DNA technology. | |
| 1994 | FlavrSavr tomato developed as first GM food produced for the market. |
| 1995 | Bt corn developed. |
| 1996 | Roundup Ready soybeans introduced. |
| 2004 | Roundup Ready wheat developed. |
1.12 The organization of the book
An effort has been made to organize this book such that the sequence of discussion of topics follows closely the sequence in conducting a plant breeding project. A plant breeding course, at the minimum, is usually an upper level course at the undergraduate level. It is assumed that a student taking a plant breeding course would have received prior instruction in basic biology, including genetics, botany, and physiology. A review of basic genetic principles is helpful to better understanding the material in this book and a plant breeding course in general. Sometimes, some of this basic material is reviewed as appropriate. In addition, some of the underlying science is presented in the appendix section of the book. A unique aspect of this book is the inclusion of manuscripts from industry professionals to highlight various chapters. The purpose is to show how the principles and concepts discussed in the chapter are applied in real‐life situations in crop improvement by professionals in industry or institutions of higher learning.
Key references and suggested reading
1 Baezinger, P.S. (2006). Plant breeding training in the U.S.A. HortScience 41: 28–29.
2 Baezinger, P.S., Russell, W.K., Graef, G.L., and Campbell, B.T. (2006). 50 years of crop breeding, genetics, and cytology. Crop Science 46: 2230–2244.
3 Bliss, F. (2006). Plant breeding in the private sector of North America. HortScience 41: 45–47.
4 Bliss, F.A. (2007). Education and preparation of plant breeders for careers