Cool season grain legumes including pea, faba bean, lentil, chickpea, and grass pea are extensively grown in many parts of the world. They are a primary source of proteins in human diet. This volume deals with the most recent advances in genetics, genomics, and breeding of these crops. The "state of the art" for the individual crops differs; howeve

Grain legumes, including common-bean, chickpea, pigeonpea, pea, cowpea, lentil and others, form important constituents of global diets, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Despite this significant role, global production has increased only marginally in the past 50 years. The slow production growth, along with a rising human population and improved buying capacity has substantially reduced the per capita availability of food legumes. Changes in environmental climate have also had significant impact on production, creating a need to identify stable donors among genetic resources for environmentally robust genes and designing crops resilient to climate change. Genetic and Genomic Resources of Grain Legume Improvement is the first book to bring together the latest resources in plant genetics and genomics to facilitate the identification of specific germplasm, trait mapping and allele mining to more effectively develop biotic and abiotic-stress-resistant grains. This book will be an invaluable resource for researchers, crop biologists and students working with crop development. - Explores origin, distribution and diversity of grain legumes - Presents information on germplasm collection, evaluation and maintenance - Offers insight into pre-breeding/germplasm enhancement efforts - Integrates genomic and genetic resources in crop improvement - Internationally contributed work

This book provides insights into the genetics and the latest advances in genomics research on the common bean, offering a timely overview of topics that are pertinent for future developments in legume genomics. The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most important grain legume crop for food consumption worldwide, as well as a model for legume research, and the availability of the genome sequence has completely changed the paradigm of the ongoing research on the species. Key topics covered include the numerous genetic and genomic resources, available tools, the identified genes and quantitative trait locus (QTL) identified, and there is a particular emphasis on domestication. It is a valuable resource for students and researchers interested in the genetics and genomics of the common bean and legumes in general.

Demonstrating the quantum leap genomics represents in technology, this book documents the initial research strategies, the development of genomic tools and resources, and the legume-community consensus on the research objectives that will guide the genomic characterization of major legume crops. The book presents this technical theme in a manner that helps readers answer the question, "What is genomics?" And finally, this book helps readers formulate an opinion on the question, "Why is genomic research needed?" The application of this technology in legume crop enhancement will ensure that U.S. agriculture remains competitive in domestic and global markets for legumes and legume crop products.

For a long time there has been a critical need for a book to assess the genomics of tropical plant species. At last, here it is. This brilliant book covers recent progress on genome research in tropical crop plants, including the development of molecular markers, and many more subjects. The first section provides information on crops relevant to tropical agriculture. The book then moves on to lay out summaries of genomic research for the most important tropical crop plant species.

Wild crop relatives are now playing a significant part in the elucidation and improvement of the genomes of their cultivated counterparts. This work includes comprehensive examinations of the status, origin, distribution, morphology, cytology, genetic diversity and available genetic and genomic resources of numerous wild crop relatives, as well as of their evolution and phylogenetic relationship. Further topics include their role as model plants, genetic erosion and conservation efforts, and their domestication for the purposes of bioenergy, phytomedicines, nutraceuticals and phytoremediation. Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources comprises 10 volumes on Cereals, Millets and Grasses, Oilseeds, Legume Crops and Forages, Vegetables, Temperate Fruits, Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, Industrial Crops, Plantation and Ornamental Crops, and Forest Trees. It contains 125 chapters written by nearly 400 well-known authors from about 40 countries.

Legumes crops have an extraordinary importance for the agriculture and the environment. In a world urgently requiring more sustainable agriculture, food security and healthier diets the demand for legume crops is on the rise. The International Legume Society (http://ils.nsseme.com) organizes a triannual series of conferences with the goal to serve as a forum to discuss interdisciplinary progress on legume research. The Second International Legume Society Conference (ILS2) hosted in October 2016 at Troia, Portugal was the starting point for the Research Topic “Advances in Legume Research” in FiPS, that was also open to spontaneous submissions.

This book sheds new light on the chickpea genome sequencing and resequencing of chickpea germplasm lines and provides insights into classical genetics, cytogenetics, and trait mapping. It also offers an overview of the latest advances in genome sequencing and analysis. The growing human population, rapid climate changes and limited amounts of arable land are creating substantial challenges in connection with the availability and affordability of nutritious food for smallholder farmers in developing countries. In this context, climate smart crops are essential to alleviating the hunger of the millions of poor and undernourished people living in developing countries. In addition to cereals, grain legumes are an integral part of the human diet and provide sustainable income for smallholder farmers in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Among grain legumes, the chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is the second most important in terms of production and productivity. Besides being a rich source of proteins, it can fix atmospheric nitrogen through symbiosis with rhizobia and increase the input of combined nitrogen. Several abiotic stresses like drought, heat, salinity, together with biotic stresses like Fusarium wilt, Ascochyta blight, and Botrytis grey mould have led to production losses, as the chickpeas is typically grown in the harsh climates of our planet’s semi-arid regions.

Featuring current resources used to discover new legume family genes and to understand genes and their interactions, Legume Genomics: Methods and Protocols provides techniques from expert researchers to study these plants that are so vitally important for food, feed, human nutrition, bioenergy, and industrial purposes. This detailed volume covers genome characterization and analysis, transcriptome analysis and miRNA identification/analysis, forward and reverse genetics, molecular markers, as well as transformation strategies used to investigate gene function and many other topics. 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 useful, Legume Genomics: Methods and Protocols aims to serve plant molecular biologists, molecular breeders, plant physiologists and biochemists, developmental biologists, and those interested in plant-microbe interactions.