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August, 2008
Molecular Plant Breeding as the
Foundation for 21st Century Crop Improvement
Stephen P. Moose and Rita H. Mumm
Department of Crop Sciences (S.P.M., R.H.M.) and Energy
Biosciences Institute (S.P.M.), University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801; and GeneMax Services, Savoy,
Illinois 61874 (R.H.M.)
Source: Plant Physiology
147:969-977 (2008)
© 2008
American Society of Plant Biologists
ABSTRACT
The fundamental discoveries
of Darwin and Mendel established the scientific basis for
plant breeding and genetics at the turn of the 20th century.
Similarly, the recent integration of advances in
biotechnology, genomic research, and molecular marker
applications with conventional plant breeding practices has
created the foundation for molecular plant breeding, an
interdisciplinary science that is revolutionizing 21st
century crop improvement. Though the methods of molecular
plant breeding continue to evolve and are a topic of intense
interest among plant breeders and crop scientists (for
review, see Cooper et al., 2004; Nelson et al., 2004; Lörz
and Wenzel, 2005; Varshney et al., 2006; Eathington et al.,
2007; Mumm, 2007), they have received relatively little
attention from the majority of plant biologists engaged in
basic scientific research. The objective of this article for
an Editor's Choice series on future advances in crop
biotechnology is to briefly review important historical
developments in molecular plant breeding, key principles
influencing the current practice of molecular plant
breeding, and factors that influence the adoption of
molecular plant breeding in crop improvement programs.
Furthermore, we emphasize how the application of molecular
plant breeding is now contributing to discoveries of genes
and their functions that open new avenues for basic plant
biology research.
Full article:
http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/full/147/3/969
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