Gene transfer to plants was first achieved more than twenty years ago. Since then, plant transformation technology has developed rapidly and in the last few years the benefits of this research have become apparent. Major developments have included the commercial production of engineered plants that are resistant to pests and diseases, plants with enhanced or modified traits and plants that are used as factories to produce valuable molecules. As with any expanding technology, it becomes difficult to find a concise and comprehensive source of information that explains all the underlying principles and brings together disparate techniques.
Gene Transfer to Plants attempts to address this problem by describing the principles of Agrobacterium-m transformation, direct transformation and gene transfer using plant viruses. The book also describes how transgene expression is controlled in plants and how advanced transformation strategies can be used to manipulate and modify the plant genome. An exciting final chapter provides an overview of all the applications of plant transformation in agriculture, medicine and industry.