Plant Science 158 (2000) 187
Book review
www.elsevier.com/locate/plantsci
Molecular improvement of cereal crops, in: Ad-vances in Cellular and Molecular Biology of Plants, Vol. 5, Indra K. Vasil (Ed.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, hardbound, NILG 400.00/US$ 240.00, ISBN 0-7923-5471-0
The title of this multi-authored book clearly indicates its scope and purpose; a review of the application of genetic transformation methodol-ogy for the improvement of cereals. The first introductory chapter sets the scene, outlining the history of the establishment of plant regeneration systems from in vitro cultured cereal cells to the production of transgenic cereals. The next 12 chapters cover — over some 400 pages — meth-ods of genetic transformation for cereals, the
regu-lation of gene expression in cereals and
state-of-the-art descriptions on the production of transgenic wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, sorghum, triticale and tritordeum, including prob-lem orientated applications of gene technology for the improvement of each of the major cereals.
Three comprehensive, well-written chapters on the methods for genetic transformation cover the principles, methodological improvements and ap-plication to cereals for the three main techniques; (a) direct gene transfer to protoplasts mediated by polyethylene glycol and electroporation treatments — although no longer the predominant method for the production of transgenic cereals, this method still plays an important role in studies on gene expression and function; (b) biolistic technol-ogy or gene transfer mediated by microprojectile bombardment — a most popular method for ge-netic transformation of graminaceous monocots;
and (c) Agrobacterium tumefaciens — mediated
transformation increasingly becoming an estab-lished method in many laboratories for the pro-duction of transgenic cereals such as rice and maize.
A chapter reviewing the current understanding of underlying factors controlling transgene expres-sion and stability describes the reporter and se-lectable marker genes and promoters most widely used in the development of transgenic cereals, as well as the modification of heterologous genes for the optimisation of transgene expression in cereals. Next, seven highly informative, comprehensive and well illustrated chapters, provide in-depth overviews on the production of transgenic plants for the main cereal crops; wheat, rice, maize, barley, oat, rye and sorghum. All these chapters are written by experts who have made pioneering contributions to the establishment of the method-ologies for the generation of transgenic plants in the respective cereal crop. Most of these chapters also include the current applications and prospects of gene technology in cereal improvement.
A final chapter briefly outlines the general prin-ciples of genome organisation and genetic map colinearity of grass genomes. It describes uses and abuses of comparative mapping, as well as prospects for the contribution of genomics in com-parative mapping.
The book will certainly be useful to plant scien-tists, breeders, biotechnologists, and agronomists interested in the improvement of cereals. It
pro-vides a wonderful up-to-date comprehensive
overview of the field, with contributions of value to the specialist and also suitable to a broader readership.
German Spangenberg
Plant Biotechnology Centre,
Agriculture Victoria,
La Trobe Uni6ersity, Bundoora, Vic. 3083,
Australia
E-mail: german.spangenberg@nre.vic.gov.edu
.
