Recent Advances in Plant Biotechnology and its Applications

Contents: SECTION 1: METHODOLOGY: Wild Species of Oryza as an Important Reservoir for Mining of Useful Alleles. 1. Plant Genetic Transformation: Methods and Emerging Trends. 2. The Engineering of Recombinant Plastids in Higher Plants. 3. Inducible Gene Expression Systems as Tools for Plant Functional Genomics. 4. Gene Targeting in Higher Plants. 5. State-of-the-art Genome Profiling (GP): A Key Tool for Plant Biotechnology. 6. Applications of Gene Silencing in Crops. SECTION 2: PHYSIOLOGY, TISSUE CULTURE, MICROPROPAGATION: Effect of Brassinolide on Growth, Yield, Metabolite Content and Enzyme Activities of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). 7. Ornamental Foliage Plants: Improvement through Biotechnology. 8. In vitro Propagation of Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Crops. 9. In vitro Plantlet Regeneration in Asparagus racemosus through Shoot Bud Differentiation on Nodal Segments. 10. Micropropagation of Ringal Bamboo Drepanostachyum falcatum (Nees) Keng.  F.  through Nodal Segments. 11. Isolated Microspore Embryogenesis in Cereals: Aspects and Prospects. 12. Plant Regeneration from Cell Suspension Culture-Derived Protoplasts of Phellodendron amurense Rupr. 13. Importance of Micropropagation Technique in Enhancing the Productivity of Crops. SECTION 3: PLANT TRANSFORMATION: High Efficiency Transformation in Artemisia annua with Agrobacterium tumefaciens. 14. Genetic Improvement of Castor (Ricinus communis L.) through Tissue Culture and Biotechnological Tools. 15. Genetic Engineering of Orchids. 16. Identity Preservation in Genetically Modified Crops. 17. Enhanced Production of Recombinant Proteins from Plant Cells. 18. Bioengineering of Crops for Biofuels and Bioenergy. SECTION 4: STRESS TOLERANCE: Light and Dark Modulation of Chlorophyll Biosynthetic Genes in Response to Temperature. 19. Glutathione Homeostasis and Abiotic Stresses in Plants: Physiological, Biochemical and Molecular Approaches. 20. Signaling Components in Programmed Cell Death: Molecular and Functional Similarities between Animals and Plants. 21. Regulation of Stomatal Opening and Signal Transduction Components in Guard Cells. 22. Designing New Plant Genotypes with Enhanced Resistance to Salinity. 23. Defense Response of Moth Bean (Phaseolus aconitifolius) to Macrophomina phaseolina: Role of Polyphenols, PAL and β-1,3-glucanase. 24. Host-Pathogen Interaction in Sesamum indicum: Synthesis of PR-Proteins. 25. Allium sativum Leaf Lectin: A Potent Sap Feeding Insect Control Protein Expressed in Rice and Mustard. 26. Genetic Engineering: A Powerful Tool to Combat Viral Diseases of Plants. SECTION 5: BIOTECHNOLOGY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS: Molecular Tools in Medicinal Plants: A Review. 27. Forskolin Biosynthesis and Invertase Activity in Agrobacterium rhizogenes Mediated Transformed Roots of Coleus forskohlii. 28. A Novel Source for Furanocoumarins: Ruta graveolens L. 29. Antioxidant Potential of Plants and their Impact on Human Health. 30. Arabinogalactan and Arabinogalactan-Protein Complexes (AGPs): a Natural Plant Derived Macromolecule of Therapeutic Importance. 31. Transgenics of Some Medicinal Plants. 32. In vitro Regeneration of a Rare Medicinally Potent Plant of Eastern Himalayan Hotspot. 33. A Comparative Study of Growth Kinetics in Hairy Root Cultures of Solanum khasianum Clark Grown in Shake Flasks and Bioreactors. 34. Micropropagation and Alkaloid Production through Somatic Embryo Cultures of Corydalis. 35. Biotechnological Approach on Production of Ginkgolides from Cell Cultures of Ginkgo biloba L. 36. Applications of Biotechnology in Indian Ginseng (Ashwagandha): Progress and prospects. 37. Prospects of Ephedrine in the Desert Plants of Rajasthan. 38. Ayurvedic Medicines: Some Potential Plants for Medicine from India. Index.

The present book is divided into five sections. The first section deals with the methodology and bioresource generation, techniques related to genetic engineering, and gene transfer to the nuclear genome and chloroplast genome. The new techniques of genome profiling and gene silencing are also presented. The second section of the book deals with the classical aspect of plant biotechnology viz. tissue culture and micropropagation. Use of genetic engineering via Agrobacterium and direct transfer of DNA via particle bombardment to develop transformed plants in Artemesia, castor and orchids, and production of recombinant proteins in plant cells have been dealt with in the third section.