PLB154, Introduction to Plant Breeding

General Information

December 21, 2005: News@Nature:
- Alcohol and science: Saving the agave by Rex Dalton
  - Importance of maintaining genetic diversity in a crop to avoid disease epidemics
December 21, 2005: News@Nature:
- Alcohol and science: The grapes of rock by Alexandra Witze
  - It is not only genetics, but the environment as well that shape a crop and its product: wine and the "terroir" effect
January 3, 2006: News@Nature:

Ancient genetic tricks shape up wheat: Turning back the evolutionary clock offers better crops for dry regions. by Tom Simonite
- Re-synthesizing a polyploid crop to bring in additional genetic diversity, in this case for drought tolerance

January 4, 2006: Sacramento Bee:
- Mother of pistachios living out retirement at ag research center by Olivia Muñoz
  - Maternal parent of clonally propagated rootstocks used for pistachio plantations; has resistance to salt stress and root rots.
January 2006: USDA-ARS Agricultural Research magazine:
- Remarkable Kazak Apples: Their resistance to disease may boost an entire industry
  - Genetic resources of apple; where were apple likely domesticated? how can this genetic diversity from the wild progenitors be used to breed new apple varieties with more resistance to diseases
January 2006: Theoretical and Applied Genetics:
- Tian, F., D. Li, Q. Fu, Z. Zhu, Y. Fu, X. Wang, and C. Sun. 2006. Construction of introgression lines carrying wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) segments in cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) background and characterization of introgressed segments associated with yield-related traits. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 112:570-580. Abstract