Table of Contents

Part I: Plants and their Genomes 1: Plants and their Exploitation by People 2: Photosynthesis and the Evolution of Plants 3: Plant Molecular Genetics and Genomics Part II: How Plants Function 4: Plant Metabolism 5: Plant Organization and Development 6: Plant Responses to the Environment Part III: How Plants are Manipulated 7: Domestication and the Empirical Exploitation of Plants 8: The Scientific Manipulation of Plants 9: Crop Improvement in the 20th Century Part IV: Plants, Society and the Future 10: Plant Biotechnologies in the 21st Century 11: Social Context of Plant Biotechnologies 12: Future Challenges for Plant Biotechnology

Promotional Information

At a time when the world's food supplies are increasingly unable to meet the needs of a burgeoning population, there is significant diversity of opinion concerning the benefits and perceived dangers of the application of biotechnology to food production. To inform this debate, Plants, Biotechnology & Agriculture provides the reader with a guide to plants as both organisms and resources. The first half of the book gives an overview of plant biology, suitable for students of plant biology and agriculture as well as those without a biology background. This is followed by an outline of the human exploitation of plants, from domestication to scientific manipulation. Further chapters describe the technologies that are now being applied to improve crops, society's responses to these technologies, and how they are being modified as a result. The book concludes with a discussion of future challenges for biotechnology in the face of rapid population growth, depletion of non-renewable resources and climate change.

About the Author

Denis Murphy received a D Phil in plant biochemistry from the University of York, UK in 1977. He went on to research and teach at universities in Australia, USA, Germany and the UK. He spent ten years as Head of Oil Crops Research at the John Innes Centre, Norwich and is currently Professor of Biotechnology at the University of Glamorgan in Wales, UK. He is an advisor and consultant on various aspects of agriculture and biotechnology to a range of international bodies including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the European Commission. He frequently participates in public debates on scientific issues such as food security, biofuels, and modern biotechnology. He has authored more than 280 peer reviewed research articles, and his recent books include: Plant Breeding and Biotechnology and People, Plants, and Genes: The Story of Crops and Humanity, both published in 2007.

Reviews

"The book is very well written, easy to read and well structured. Each chapter starts with an overview and finishes with a summary. Although the book covers a wide range of subjects, from plant genomics to plant function and breeding, the focus is always on biotechnology. The author's views are well balanced between the importance of the new GM technology and the reasonable doubts with single gene approaches.

This book is highly suitable for the intended readers: senior level undergraduates, postgraduates studying fro a degree in biology, plant science, agriculture, biotechnology, crop science or breeding. I also recommend it fro everybody interested in crop improvement as a future challenge."--Eva Vincze (1/1/2012 12:00:00 AM)