Biotechnology in Plant Conservation Relevance to Sustainable Management of Natural Plant Resources

This book discusses future biotechnological strategies for plant species conservation and further modification to improve yield and quality characteristics. Food security issues that arise from an increasing global population can potentially be resolved through the sustainable use of plant genetic resources and its conservation. The diversity found in plant genetic resources is important factors of improvement. It is well known that genetic diversity is necessary for existence of plant species in their natural habitats. It depends on various environmental parameters which regulate the allele number on the genome loci. Therefore, in order to develop effective management plans for the plant species conservation, it is crucial to comprehend the genetic makeup of those species from their natural habitat. Assessing the species genetic diversity is crucial for both gene editing and conservation. Technological advancements in the field of biotechnology, including molecular markers, in vitro culture, DNA banking, and cryopreservation have significantly improved the strategies for the efficient conservation of endangered and rare and plant genetic resources. It is possible for scientists to search for novel genes and their products with this method of conserving biological information. Academics studying, teaching, or conducting research in the fields of biotechnology, plant science, and environmental science find the book particularly interesting.

Chapters1. Conservation of Natural Plant Resources for Sustainable Development: An Overview.- 2. Role of In Vitro Technology in Plant Conservation: Relevance to Management of Natural Plant Resources and Diversity.- 3. Conservation of Endemic Plants: Conventional and Biotechnological Approaches.- 4. Applications of Biotechnology in sustainable conservation of plant genetic resources.- 5. Applications of DNA banks in  plant genetic resources conservation.- 6. Biotechnological strategies for rare and endangered plant conservation and improvements.- 7. Plant genetic resources conservation by cryopreservation.- 8. Gene banking: Conservation of plant genetic resources in the postgenomic era.- 9. Plant biodiversity conservation and biotechnology.- 10. Plant genetic resource conservation using molecular tools: an overview of the technologies.- 11. Molecular markers in sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of plant genetic resources.- 12. Strategies for the Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.- 13. Plant Genetic Resources: Genetic Erosion to Genetic Engineering.- 14. An integrated approaches of conservation and improvement of medicinal plants.- 15. Role of Seed Banks in the Conservation of Plant Diversity and Ecological Restoration.

Dr. Nitish Kumar is Senior Assistant Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar, India. Dr. Kumar completed his doctoral research at the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research–Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India. He has published more than 90 research articles in leading international and national journals, more than 20 book chapters and 10 books with Springer and Taylor & Francis. He has a wide area of research experience in the field of agriculture and crop improvement. Dr. Kumar is a recipient of the Young Scientist Award from the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) in 2014. He has received many awards/fellowships/projects from various prestigious government organizations like CSIR, DBT, ICAR and SERB-DST, BRNS-BARC, among others. He is a reviewer for various International Journals and serves as Associate Editor of the journal Gene (Elsevier).