Plant Chromosomes: Analysis, Manipulation and Engineering

The past two decades have brought with them remarkable progress in plant chromosomal research. The chromosome structure has been clarified in great detail, enabling identification of gene sequences at the microscopic level, which has aided the analysis of biodiversity. Knowledge of chromosome structure has played a crucial role in the improvement of crop species and has far-reaching implications. The manipulation and engineering of chromosomes involves a panoply of novel methods, combining conventional and modern techniques of biotechnology. A working knowledge of such techniques is essential for today's students and researchers, and the plant system, because of totipotency, requires special treatment. This treatise covers all the latest methods involved in the study of evolution, biodiversity, chromosome manipulation and engineering.

Arun Kumar Sharma is Honorary Professor of the Centre of Advanced Study on Cell and Chromosome Research, University of Calcutta. He has been the president of the Indian Botanical Society (1980), the Indian Science Congress (1980-81), the Indian National Science Academy (1983-84), and is Founding President of the Federation of Asian Scientific Academies and Societies. A former Golden Jubilee Research Professor of the Indian National Science Academy, he has pioneered many techniques for the study of the physical and chemical nature of chromosomes, the most recent being orcein banding for repetitive DNA sequences.

Archana Sharma is Professor of the Centre of Advanced Study on Cell and Chromosome Research, University of Calcutta. She has been president of the Indian Botanical Society (1989), the Indian Science Congress (1986-87) and the Biological Section of the National Academy of Sciences, India, and is a member of the International Academy of Science. She has served on many Governmental Commissions, including three terms on the Science and Engineering Research Council and one term on the National Commission for Women. She has developed new techniques for studying chromosome structure which are applied throughout the world and is well known for establishing a new concept of speciation in vegetatively reproducing plants.