Application of Molecular Genetics in livestock production has been reviewed indicating that why molecular genetics is important in the presence of conventional livestock improvement programs. Molecular genetic technologies like marker assisted selection, PCR, DNA sequencing, tran genesis and cloning have been discussed. The paper includes the applications of Molecular biotechnologies in animal ...

Engineered minichromosomes offer an enormous opportunity to improve crop performance, as recently discussed (Houben and Schubert, 2007). Unlike conventional gene transformation technologies, minichromosomes can be used simultaneously to transfer and to express stably (multiple) sets of genes. Because minichromosomes segregate independently of host chromosomes, they provide a platform for accele...

Significant yield losses in maize (Zea mays L.) from drought are expected to increase with global climate change as temperatures rise and rainfall distribution changes in key traditional production areas. The success of conventional crop improvement over the past 50 years for drought tolerance forms a baseline against which new genetic methods must be compared. Selection based on performance in...

More than half the world’s population suffers from micronutrient malnutrition. Biofortification of staple food crops is a new public health approach to control vitamin A, iron, and zinc deficiencies in poor countries. Biofortification is the development of micronutrient‐dense staple crops using traditional breeding practices and modern biotechnology. It has multiple advantages: it capitalizes o...

Biofuels such as bioethanol are becoming a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Utilizing agricultural biomass for the production of biofuel has drawn much interest in many science and engineering disciplines. As one of the major crops, maize offers promise in this regard. Compared to other crops with biofuel potential, maize can provide both starch (seed) and cellulosic (stover) material for bi...

Integrating molecular marker technologies such as MAS into breeding strategies could become increasingly important in the coming years, to realize genetic gains with greater speed and precision. The promise of MAS for improving polygenic traits in a quick time-frame and in a cost-effective manner is still elusive. There is a wider appreciation that simply demonstrating that a complex trait can ...

Bananas are among the most important fruit crops worldwide, being cultivated in more than 120 countries, mainly by small-scale producers. However, short-stature high-yielding bananas presenting good agronomic characteristics are hard to find. Consequently, wind continues to damage a great number of plantations each year, leading to lodging of plants and bunch loss. Development of new culti...

An assessment was previously made of the effects of organic and low-input field management systems on the physical, grain compositional and processing quality of wheat and on the performance of varieties developed using different breeding methods ("Comparison of quality parameters of wheat varieties with different breeding origin under organic and low-input conventional conditions" [1]). Here, ...

Micronutrients are essential for a healthy life. Humans do not produce micronutrients, and hence they must obtain them through the foodchain. Staple crops are the predominant food source of mankind, but need to be complemented by other foodstuffs because they are generally deficient in one or the other micronutrient. Breeding for micronutrient-dense crops is not always a viable option because o...

Conventional breeding requires long breeding cycles which limits selection intensity due to large tree sizes and high costs associated with assessing properties. In contrast very early selection offers a short cycle and assesses corewood which is the poorest wood in the tree. Young Pinus radiata trees were deliberately leant to produce separately opposite wood (OW) and compression wood (CW). Th...