Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a soil bacterium that for more than a century has been known as a pathogen causing the plant crown gall disease. Unlike many other pathogens, Agrobacterium has the ability to deliver DNA to plant cells and permanently alter the plant genome. The discovery of this unique feature 30 years ago has provided plant scientists with a powerful tool to genetically transform plants for both basic research purposes and for agric- tural development. Compared to physical transformation methods such as particle bomba- ment or electroporation, Agrobacterium-mediated DNA delivery has a number of advantages. One of the features is its propensity to generate single or a low copy number of integrated transgenes with defined ends. Integration of a single transgene copy into the plant genome is less likely to trigger “gene silencing” often associated with multiple gene insertions. When the first edition of Agrobacterium Protocols was published in 1995, only a handful of plants could be routinely transformed using Agrobacterium. Ag- bacterium-mediated transformation is now commonly used to introduce DNA into many plant species, including monocotyledon crop species that were previously considered non-hosts for Agrobacterium. Most remarkable are recent devel- ments indicating that Agrobacterium can also be used to deliver DNA to non-plant species including bacteria, fungi, and even mammalian cells.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a soil bacterium that for more than a century has been known as a pathogen causing the plant crown gall disease. Unlike many other pathogens, Agrobacterium has the ability to deliver DNA to plant cells and permanently alter the plant genome. The discovery of this unique feature 30 years ago has provided plant scientists with a powerful tool to genetically transform plants for both basic research purposes and for agric- tural development. Compared to physical transformation methods such as particle bomba- ment or electroporation, Agrobacterium-mediated DNA delivery has a number of advantages. One of the features is its propensity to generate single or a low copy number of integrated transgenes with defined ends. Integration of a single transgene copy into the plant genome is less likely to trigger “gene silencing” often associated with multiple gene insertions. When the first edition of Agrobacterium Protocols was published in 1995, only a handful of plants could be routinely transformed using Agrobacterium. Ag- bacterium-mediated transformation is now commonly used to introduce DNA into many plant species, including monocotyledon crop species that were previously considered non-hosts for Agrobacterium. Most remarkable are recent devel- ments indicating that Agrobacterium can also be used to deliver DNA to non-plant species including bacteria, fungi, and even mammalian cells.

Rapid changes and significant progress have been made in the Agrobacterium field, such as genetically transforming plants for both basic research purposes and agricultural development. In Agrobacterium Protocols, Third Edition, Volumes 1 and 2, a team of leading experts and veteran researchers describe in detail techniques for delivering DNA to plant cells and permanently altering their genomes. This edition emphasizes agricultural crops and plant species with economic values, with updated protocols on 32 plant species and protocols involving 19 new species. Together with the 1st and 2nd editions, these two volumes offer Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation protocols for a total of 76 plant species. For a number of important plants such as rice, barley, wheat and citrus, multiple protocols using different starting plant materials for transformation are included. Volume 2 contains 29 chapters with updated techniques for industrial plants, root plants, nuts and fruits, tropic plants, and other important plant species. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Agrobacterium Protocols, Third Edition facilitates the transfer of this rapidly developing technology to all researchers in both fundamental and applied biology.

The aim of Transgenic Plants: Methods and Protocols is to provide a source of information to guide the reader through a wide range of frequently used, broadly applicable, and easily reproducible techniques involved in the gene- tion of transgenic plants. Its step-by-step approach covers a series of methods for genetically transforming plant cells and tissues, and for recovering whole transgenic plants from them. The volume then moves on to the use of sele- able and reporter markers, positive selection, marker elimination after rec- ery of transgenic plants, and the analysis of transgene integration, expression, and localization in the plant genome. Although contributors usually refer to model plants in most chapters, the protocols described herein should be widely applicable to many plant species. The last two sections are devoted to me- ods of risk assessment and to exploring the current and future applications of transgenic technology in agriculture and its social implications in a case study. Transgenic Plants: Methods and Protocols is divided into six major s- tions plus an introduction, comprising 27 chapters. Part I, the Introduction, is a review of the past, present, and perspectives of the transgenic plants, from the discovery of Agrobacterium tumefaciens as a feasible transformation vector, to its use as a tool to study gene expression and function, and the current and possible future applications of this technology in agriculture, industry, and medicine.

This book provides thorough coverage of transgenic plants with methods on plant transformation, biotechnological application of transgenic plants, and future developments. Chapters are grouped into sections focusing on transformation model and crop plants, genome engineering, and transgenic event characterization. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Transgenic Plants: Methods and Protocols aims to broaden the utility for readers, provide additional references for further understanding, and present the technology’s potential for solving some of our most urgent global challenges in food security.

Agrobacterium is a plant pathogen which causes the “crown-gall” disease, a neoplastic growth that results from the transfer of a well-defined DNA segment (“transferred DNA”, or “T-DNA”) from the bacterial Ti (tumor-inducing) plasmid to the host cell, its integration into the host genome, and the expression of oncogenes contained on the T-DNA. The molecular machinery, needed for T-DNA generation and transport into the host cell and encoded by a series of chromosomal (chv) and Ti-plasmid virulence (vir) genes, has been the subject of numerous studies over the past several decades. Today, Agrobacterium is the tool of choice for plant genetic engineering with an ever expanding host range that includes many commercially important crops, flowers, and tree species. Furthermore, its recent application for the genetic transformation of non-plant species, from yeast to cultivated mushrooms and even to human cells, promises this bacterium a unique place in the future of biotechnological applications. The book is a comprehensive volume describing Agrobacterium's biology, interactions with host species, and uses for genetic engineering.

This proceedings is a collection of 46 selected papers that were presented at the 12th International Wheat Genetics Symposium (IWGS). Since the launch of the wheat genome sequencing project in 2005, the arrival of draft genome sequences has marked a new era in wheat genetics and genomics, catalyzing rapid advancement in the field. This book provides a comprehensive review of the forefront of wheat research, across various important topics such as germplasm and genetic diversity, cytogenetics and allopolyploid evolution, genome sequencing, structural and functional genomics, gene function and molecular biology, biotic stress, abiotic stress, grain quality, and classical and molecular breeding. Following an introduction, 9 parts of the book are dedicated to each of these topics. A final, 11th part entitled “Toward Sustainable Wheat Production” contains 7 excellent papers that were presented in the 12th IWGS Special Session supported by the OECD. With rapid population growth and radical climate changes, the world faces a global food crisis and is in need of another Green Revolution to boost yields of wheat and other widely grown staple crops. Although this book focuses on wheat, many of the newly developed techniques and results presented here can be applied to other plant species with large and complex genomes. As such, this volume is highly recommended for all students and researchers in wheat sciences and related plant sciences and for those who are interested in stable food production and food security.

The broad host range pathogenic bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens has been widely studied as a model system to understand horizontal gene flow, secretion of effector proteins into host cells, and plant-pathogen interactions. Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation also is the major method for generating transgenic plants for research and biotechnology purposes. Agrobacterium species have the natural ability to conduct interkingdom genetic transfer from bacteria to eukaryotes, including most plant species, yeast, fungi, and even animal cells. In nature, A. tumefaciens causes crown gall disease resulting from expression in plants of auxin and cytokinin biosynthesis genes encoded by the transferred (T-) DNA. Gene transfer from A. tumefaciens to host cells requires virulence (vir) genes that reside on the resident tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid. In addition to T-DNA, several Virulence (Vir) effector proteins are also translocated to host cells through a bacterial type IV secretion system. These proteins aid in T-DNA trafficking through the host cell cytoplasm, nuclear targeting, and T-DNA integration. Genes within native T-DNAs can be replaced by any gene of interest, making Agrobacterium species important tools for plant research and genetic engineering. In this research topic, we provided updated information on several important areas of Agrobacterium biology and its use for biotechnology purposes.

The development of recombinant DNA technology and methods for transferring recombinant genes into plants has brought about significant advances in plant science. First, it has allowed investigation, using reporter genes, into the transcriptional regulation of plant genes—a key to the under standing of the biochemical basis of growth and development in plants. Second, gene transfer technology has facilitated the molecular cloning, by tagging genomic sequences, of important genes (e. g. , homeotic genes) whose gene products control the normal pattern of growth and differentia tion of plants. Third, overproducing foreign or endogenous proteins in plants can often lead to a better understanding of biochemical and physiological processes. Fourth, gene transfer technology has allowed the improvement of plant agricultural productivity. For example, plants have been engineered with improved viral resistance or the ability to withstand herbicide attack, therefore allowing a more effective use of herbicides to kill weeds. Fifth, there have been recent successes that demonstrate the potential use of plants as biotechnological chemical factories. For example, it is possible to use plants in the production of human antibodies and antigens of medical importance. It has been demonstrated recently that plants can be engineered to produce modified oils and even plastics! This paves the way to redirect agriculture from the production of surplus foods to the production of bio technological products of industrial importance.

This book describes the strategy used for sequencing, assembling and annotating the tomato genome and presents the main characteristics of this sequence with a special focus on repeated sequences and the ancestral polyploidy events. It also includes the chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a major crop plant as well as a model for fruit development, and the availability of the genome sequence has completely changed the paradigm of the species’ genetics and genomics. The book describes the numerous genetic and genomic resources available, the identified genes and quantitative trait locus (QTL) identified, as well as the strong synteny across Solanaceae species. Lastly, it discusses the consequences of the availability of a high-quality genome sequence of the cultivated species for the research community. It is a valuable resource for students and researchers interested in the genetics and genomics of tomato and Solanaceae.