Biotechnological Approaches to Barley Improvement

This volume offers an up-to-date overview of biotechnologically oriented barley research. It is structured into two major sections: the first focusing on current agricultural challenges and approaches to barley improvement, and the second providing insights into recent advances in methodology. Leading scientists highlight topics such as: the global importance of barley; genetic diversity and genebanks; domestication; shoot and inflorescence architecture; reproductive development; mineral nutrition; photosynthesis and leaf senescence; grain development; drought tolerance; viral and fungal pathogens; phytophagous arthropods; molecular farming; sequence resources; induced genetic variation and TILLING; meiotic recombination; Hordeum bulbosum; genome-wide association scans; genomic selection; haploid technology; genetic engineering; and whole plant phenomics. Providing comprehensive information on topics ranging from fundamental aspects to specific applications, this book offers a useful resource for scientists, plant breeders, teachers and advanced students in the fields of molecular and plant cell biology, plant biotechnology, and agronomy.

Section I. Agricultural challenges and approaches to barley improvement

1 The world importance of barley and challenges to further improvements

Harold Verstegen, Otto Köneke, Viktor Korzun and Reinhard von Broock

2 Genetic diversity and germplasm management - wild barley, landraces, breeding materials

Kazuhiro Sato, Andrew Flavell, Joanne Russell, Andreas Börner and Jan Valkoun

3 Domestication

Takao Komatsuda

4 Shoot and inflorescence architecture

Laura Rossini, Ron Okagaki, Arnis Druka and Gary J. Muehlbauer

5 Genetic control of reproductive development

Benedikt Drosse, Chiara Campoli, Aman Mulki and Maria von Korff

6 Improvement of mineral nutrition: a source and sink for candidate genes

Benjamin Gruber and Nicolaus von Wirén

7 Photosynthesis and Leaf Senescence as Determinants of Plant Productivity

Per L. Gregersen, Christine H. Foyer and Karin Krupinska

8 Grain development

Winfriede Weschke and Hans Weber

9 Drought stress tolerance mechanisms in barley and its relevance to cereals

Polavarpu B Kavi Kishor, Kalladan Rajesh, Palakolanu S Reddy, Christiane Seiler and Nese Sreenivasulu

10 Response to viral pathogens

Frank Ordon, Thomas Kühne

11 Host- and nonhost response to attack by fungal pathogens

Patrick Schweizer

12 Response to phytophagous arthropods

Isabel Diaz, Inés Cambra, M. Estrella Santamaría, Pablo González-Melendi, Manuel Martínez

13 Molecular Farming

Einar Mäntylä and Björn L. Örvar

Section II. Recent progress in methodology

14 Development of sequence resources

Nils Stein

15 Induced genetic variation, TILLING and NGS-based cloning

Silvio Salvi, Arnis Druka, Sara Giulia Milner, Damian Gruszka

16 Modulation of meiotic recombination

Luke Ramsay, Isabelle Colas, Robbie Waugh

17 The secondary genepool of barley – Hordeum bulbosum: Gene Introgression and Homoeologous Recombination

Brigitte Ruge-Wehling, Peter Wehling

18 Genome wide association scans (GWAS)

Robbie Waugh, Bill Thomas, Andrew Flavell, Luke Ramsay, Jordi Comadran and Joanne Russell

19 Genomic selection in barley breeding

Karl Schmid and Patrick Thorwarth

20 Haploid technology

Jochen Kumlehn

21 Genetic engineering

Jochen Kumlehn, Maia Gurushidze and Götz Hensel

22 Whole plant phenomics

Mark Crowe, Timothy J. March, Joanne Tilbrook