Understanding the physical and genetic structure of cereal genomes and how defined coding and non-coding regions interact with the environment to determine a phenotype are key to the future of plant breeding and agriculture. The production and characteri- tion of transgenic plants is a powerful reverse genetic strategy increasingly used in cereals research to ascribe function to defined DNA sequences. However, the techniques and resources required to conduct these investigations have, until recently, been difficult to achieve or totally lacking in wheat, barley and oat. This book brings...

The world's major cereals are staple foods supplying about two-thirds of mankind's calorific needs as well as being a rich source of proteins, vitamins, minerals and fiber. They also contribute significantly to animal feeds and non-food products such as packaging materials, cosmetics, liquid transport biofuels etc. Conventional plant breeding has made major gains in yield, quality and pest- and disease-resistance; however, since the early 1990s this has been augmented significantly by biotechnology. Although currently, maize is the only cereal with significant biotech seed sales, advances in...