Arthropods are important to worldwide agriculture, food safety, human health, and energy production. Besides their practical significance, various species represent excellent model systems for biological investigations of evolution, development, physiology, reproduction, and social interaction. For these reasons, arthropod genomics is receiving inc

Arthropods are important to worldwide agriculture, food safety, human health, and energy production. Besides their practical significance, various species represent excellent model systems for biological investigations of evolution, development, physiology, reproduction, and social interaction. For these reasons, arthropod genomics is receiving increasing attention from researchers around the globe. Protocols for Cytogenetic Mapping of Arthropod Genomes is a collection of up-to-date, detailed protocols for physical chromosome mapping and their applications for studying genome organization and evolution in insects and ticks. This book brings together the expertise of cytogeneticists working on diverse groups of arthropods. Each chapter demonstrates approaches to tissue dissection, chromosome preparation, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and imaging. The book is a timely and complementary effort to the i5K initiative, which will obtain whole-genome sequences for 5,000 insect and related arthropod species. This comprehensive resource provides cytogeneticists with the necessary background and protocols to understand and develop chromosome-based genome assemblies from such whole-genome sequence data.

Understanding of the origin of species and their adaptability to new environments is one of the main questions in biology. This is fueled by the ongoing debate on species concepts and facilitated by the availability of an unprecedented large number of genomic resources. Genomes are organized into chromosomes, where significant variations in number and morphology are observed among species due to large-scale structural variants such as inversions, translocations, fusions, and fissions. This genomic reshuffling provides, in the long term, new chromosomal forms on which natural selection can act upon, contributing to the origin of biodiversity. This book contains mainly articles, reviews, and an opinion piece that explore numerous aspects of genome plasticity among taxa that will help in understanding the dynamics of genome composition, the evolutionary relationships between species and, in the long run, speciation.

“Mosquitoes – Identification, Ecology and Control” presents a wealth of information on the bionomics, systematics, ecology, research techniques and control of both nuisance and disease vector mosquitoes. It provides practical guidance and important information in an easily readable style, suitable for anyone involved with, or interested in mosquitoes and their management. In this new edition, 102 European species including the most important invasive species and more than 100 globally important vector and nuisance species are described. Most of them, including all European species, are presented in the fully illustrated identification keys, followed by a detailed description of the morphology, biology, distribution and medical importance of each species, including over 700 detailed drawings. “Mosquitoes – Identification, Ecology and Control” includes: · systematics and biology · medical significance · research techniques · morphological characteristics used for identification of larvae and adults · illustrated identification keys for larval and adult mosquito genera · morphology, ecology, and distribution of the species identified in the keys · biological, genetic, physical and chemical control of mosquitoes “Mosquitoes – Identification, Ecology and Control” is a valuable tool for vector ecologists, medical entomologists, students and all those involved with mosquito systematics, biology, ecology, and control world-wide. Society as a whole benefit from the implementation of carefully designed and sustainable programs for the management of mosquitoes, and the diseases they transmit. The third edition of this successful publication has been comprehensively updated and expanded, to provide the foundation of a more enlightened and informed approach to mosquito management.

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.

THE UPDATED NEW EDITION OF THE POPULAR COLLECTION OF HIGH-RESOLUTION CHROMOSOME PHOTOGRAPHS FOR GENETICISTS, MAMMOLOGISTS, AND BIOLOGISTS INTERESTED IN COMPARATIVE GENOMICS, SYSTEMATICS, AND CHROMOSOME STRUCTURE Filled with a visually exquisite collection of the banded metaphase chromosome karyotypes from some 1,000 species of mammals, the Atlas of Mammalian Chromosomes offers an unabridged compendium of the state of this genomic art form. The Atlas??contains the best karyotype produced, the common and Latin name of the species, the published citation, and identifies the contributing authors. Nearly all karyotypes are G-banded, revealing the chromosomal bar codes of homologous segments among related species. The Atlas brings together information from a range of cytogenetic literature and features high-quality karyotype images for nearly every mammal studied to date. When the Atlas was first published, only three mammals were sequenced. Today, that number is over 300. Now in its second edition, this book contains extensive revisions and major additions such as new karyotypes that employ G- and C- banding to represent euchromatin and heterochromatin genome composition, new phylogenetic trees for each order, homology segment chromosome information on published aligned chromosome painting. Summaries of the painting data for some species indicate conserved homology segments among compared species. An invaluable resource for today's comparative genomics era, this comprehensive collection of high-resolution chromosome photographs: Assembles information previously scattered throughout the cytogenetics literature in one comprehensive volume Provides chromosome information and illustrations for the karyotypes of 300 new species Addresses the mandate of the Human Genome Project to annotate the genomes of other organisms Serves as a basis for chromosome-level genome assemblies Offers a detailed summation of three decades of ZooFish (chromosome painting) Presents high-resolution photos of karyotypes that represent more than 1,000 mammal species Written for geneticists, mammalogists, and biologists, the Atlas of Mammalian Chromosomes offers a step forward for an understanding of species formation, of genome organization, and of DNA script for natural selection.

Bioinformatics for Beginners: Genes, Genomes, Molecular Evolution, Databases and Analytical Tools provides a coherent and friendly treatment of bioinformatics for any student or scientist within biology who has not routinely performed bioinformatic analysis. The book discusses the relevant principles needed to understand the theoretical underpinnings of bioinformatic analysis and demonstrates, with examples, targeted analysis using freely available web-based software and publicly available databases. Eschewing non-essential information, the work focuses on principles and hands-on analysis, also pointing to further study options. - Avoids non-essential coverage, yet fully describes the field for beginners - Explains the molecular basis of evolution to place bioinformatic analysis in biological context - Provides useful links to the vast resource of publicly available bioinformatic databases and analysis tools - Contains over 100 figures that aid in concept discovery and illustration

This volume focuses on the latest methods used to sequence, assemble, and analyze insect genomes. The collection of protocols in this book provides an introduction to the workflows and bioinformatics tools available for researchers. The chapters cover a range of useful topics such as determining genome size by flow cytometry; High Molecular Weight DNA extraction; improvements to a genome assembly provided by long-range sequencing approaches; assessments of orthology and single-copy genes at different phylogenetic levels; detecting regulatory regions with FAIRE, RAMPAGE, and computational analysis of cis-regulatory modules in insects; bioinformatics analysis of epigenetic modifications, high-throughput scanning of insect genomes (TEEseq) for the presence of endosymbionts, and leveraging genome sequence information to design RNAi strategies. 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. Cutting-edge and thorough, Insect Genomics: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for graduate students, postdocs, and novice research scientists who are interested in learning more about this developing field.

The laws of inheritance were considered quite superficial until 1903, when the chromosome theory of heredity was established by Sutton and Boveri. The discovery of the double helix and the genetic code led to our understanding of gene structure and function. For the past quarter of a century, remarkable progress has been made in the characterization of the human genome in order to search for coherent views of genes. The unit of inheritance termed factor or gene, once upon a time thought to be a trivial an imaginary entity, is now perceived clearly as the precise unit of inheritance that has continually deluged us with amazement by its complex identity and behaviour, sometimes bypassing the university of Mendel's law. The aim of the fifth volume, entitled Genes and Genomes, is to cover the topics ranging from the structure of DNA itself to the structure of the complete genome, along with everything in between, encompassing 12 chapters. These chapters relate much of the information accumulated on the role of DNA in the organization of genes and genomes per se. Several distinguished scientists, all pre-eminent authorities in each field to share their expertise. Obviously, since the historical report on the double helix configuration in 1953, voluminous reports on the meteoric advances in genetics have been accumulated, and to cover every account in a single volume format would be a Herculean task. Therefore, only a few topics are chosen, which are of great interest to molecular geneticists. This volume is intended for advanced graduate students who would wish to keep abreast with the most recent trends in genome biology.

This book presents an overview of the state-of-the-art in barley genome analysis, covering all aspects of sequencing the genome and translating this important information into new knowledge in basic and applied crop plant biology and new tools for research and crop improvement. Unlimited access to a high-quality reference sequence is removing one of the major constraints in basic and applied research. This book summarizes the advanced knowledge of the composition of the barley genome, its genes and the much larger non-coding part of the genome, and how this information facilitates studying the specific characteristics of barley. One of the oldest domesticated crops, barley is the small grain cereal species that is best adapted to the highest altitudes and latitudes, and it exhibits the greatest tolerance to most abiotic stresses. With comprehensive access to the genome sequence, barley’s importance as a genetic model in comparative studies on crop species like wheat, rye, oats and even rice is likely to increase.