The Molecular Basis of Plant Genetic Diversity

386 Pages·2012·16.257 MB·English

by  M. Caliskan

THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF

PLANT GENETIC DIVERSITY

Edited by Mahmut Çalışkan
The Molecular Basis of Plant Genetic Diversity
Edited by Mahmut Çalışkan

Published by InTech
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Copyright © 2012 InTech
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First published March, 2012
Printed in Croatia

A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com
Additional hard copies can be obtained from [email protected]

The Molecular Basis of Plant Genetic Diversity, Edited by Mahmut Çalışkan
p. cm.
ISBN 978-953-51-0157-4

Contents

Preface IX
Part 1 Genetic Diversity in Plant Populations 1
Chapter 1 Genomics Meets Biodiversity:
Advances in Molecular Marker
Development and Their Applications
in Plant Genetic Diversity Assessment 3
Péter Poczai, Ildikó Varga, Neil E. Bell and Jaakko Hyvönen
Chapter 2 Species Occurrence, Hybridization
and Speciation in Postglacial East and South Asia 33
Liao Pei-Chun, Yi-Shan Chao and Yu-Chung Chiang
Chapter 3 Genetic Diversity, Habitat
Fragmentation and Epigenetic Variations 61
Josphert N. Kimatu, Geoffrey M. Muluvi and Bao Liu
Chapter 4 Plant Self-Incompatibility:
Or, Self-Induction of Population Genetic Diversity 73
Łukasz Wolko and Ryszard Słomski
Chapter 5 Genetic Diversity of Maize
Landraces as Sources of Favorable Traits 89
Snezana Mladenovic Drinic, Violeta Andjelkovic
and Dragana Ignjatovic Micic
Chapter 6 Genetic Biodiversity and Phylogenetic Studies in Poplar
by Means of the Metallothionein Multigene Family 113
Angela Cicatelli, Renato Lupi, Francesco Sala,
Han Yfan and Stefano Castiglione
Chapter 7 Analysis of Genetic Diversity and SSR Allelic
Variation in Rubber Tree (Hevea brasilensis) 135
Suping Feng, Yaoting Wu, Weiguo Li, Fei Yu and Jingyi Wang
VI Contents

Chapter 8 Genetic Diversity and
Transferability of Rubus Microsatellite
Markers to South American Rubus Species 151
Marta L. Marulanda, Ana M. López and Marcela Uribe
Chapter 9 Genetic Diversity of Seed Orchard Crops 165
Murat Ertekin
Chapter 10 Genetic Diversity of Bulgarian
Phaseolus vulgaris L. Germplasm Collection
Through Phaseolin and Isozyme Markers 181
N. B. Tomlekova
Part 2 Diversity of Microorganisms Involved in Plant Life 231
Chapter 11 Use of Soil Microorganisms to
Improve Plant Growth and Ecosystem Sustainability 233
Inés E. García de Salamone
Chapter 12 Molecular Characterization
of a Potyvirus Associated with
a Fig Mosaic Disease in Egypt 259
Elsayed E. Hafez, A. A. Abdelkhalek and A. A. El-Morsi
Chapter 13 Case Study: Sclerotinia sclerotiorum:
Genetic Diversity and Disease Control 275
Silvana Petrofeza and Luiz Carlos Bhering Nasser
Chapter 14 Pyrenophora tritici-repentis,
Causal Agent of Tan Spot: A Review
of Intraspecific Genetic Diversity 297
M. V. Moreno, S. A. Stenglein and A. E. Perelló
Chapter 15 Magnaporthe oryzae Genetic Diversity and Its
Outcomes on the Search for Durable Resistance 331
Klaus Konrad Scheuermann, Juliana Vieira Raimondi,
Rubens Marschalek, Alexander de Andrade and Ester Wickert
Chapter 16 The Nutrigenome and Gut
Microbiome: Chronic Disease Prevention
with Crop Phytochemical Diversity 357
Erica Daniell and Elizabeth P. Ryan

Preface

Ever since human beings adopted an agricultural way of life, they have attempted
continuously to improve on what they found in nature. Once they came to understand
that plant characteristics are inherited and genetic richness is an advantage against
changing environmental conditions, they have developed new strategies to reveal and
conserve the genetic diversity in plant populations. Plants are a distinct kingdom of
organisms that possess unique properties of reproduction, development, physiology,
and adaptation. Plant diversity refers to the variety of plants that exist on the Earth.
Plants, in order to survive, have to compete with other plants and organisms in an
ecosystem. Over time, they have developed various characteristics to help them
survive, which leads to plant diversity. It is essential to have regular assessments of
the conservation status of all plant species, in order to prioritize those in need of
conservation action and to provide a measure of the success of actions being taken.
The improvement of cultivated plants considerably depends on the extent of genetic
variability available within the species. Evaluation of different genotypes, varieties,
population, etc., for genetic diversity and genetic relatedness, is extremely important
before taking up actions for breeding or conservation projects.
Over the last few years there have been dramatic advances in plant molecular genetics
and these developments have provided scientists involved in the conservation of plant
genetic resources with a range of new techniques for their research. Nowadays
techniques are available to analyze variations in the DNA level of plants and animals
or other organisms. Differences in gene sequence can be directly observed and
described - a degree of precision previously impossible to achieve. Many of the
techniques that have been developed have already been used to study the extent and
distribution of variation in species gene-pools and to investigate evolutionary and
taxonomic relationships among plant populations. With the development of the
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based techniques, in particular, numerous molecular
technologies have been, and still are being, developed, which can be used for the
detection, characterization, and evaluation of genetic diversity in plant populations.
These techniques can be chosen on the basis of how they display genetic differences,
the type of data which they produce, the taxonomic levels at which they can be most
appropriately applied, and their technical and financial requirements.
X Preface

The purpose of The Molecular Basis of Plant Genetic Diversity is to provide a glimpse into
the dynamic process of genetic variation by presenting the thoughts of some of the
scientists who are engaged in the development of new tools and ideas used to reveal
genetic variation, often from very different perspectives. I would like to express my
deepest gratitude to all theauthors who contributed to this book by sharing their
valuable works with us. This book should prove useful to students, researchers, and
experts in the area of conservation biology, genetic diversity, and molecular biology.
The year 2010 was celebrated as the international year of biodiversity by the United
Nations and it has been a unique opportunity to realize the vital role that biodiversity
plays in sustaining the life on Earth. Let us all wish much success to all projects and
initiatives dealing with the conservation of diversity of life because rich genetic
resources are a prerequisite for future generations to be able to breed crop varieties
and face new challenges.

Prof. Dr. Mahmut Çalışkan
Mustafa Kemal University,
Department of Biology, Hatay
Turkey