Recent Advances in Plant Biotechnology [electronic resource] / by Ara Kirakosyan, Peter B. Kaufman.

Plant Biotechnology from Inception to the Present -- Overview of Plant Biotechnology from Its Early Roots to the Present -- The Use of Plant Cell Biotechnology for the Production of Phytochemicals -- Molecular Farming of Antibodies in Plants -- Use of Cyanobacterial Proteins to Engineer New Crops -- Molecular Biology of Secondary Metabolism: Case Study for Glycyrrhiza Plants -- Applications of Plant Biotechnology in Agriculture and Industry -- New Developments in Agricultural and Industrial Plant Biotechnology -- Phytoremediation: The Wave of the Future -- Biotechnology of the Rhizosphere -- Plants as Sources of Energy -- Use of Plant Secondary Metabolites in Medicine and Nutrition -- Interactions of Bioactive Plant Metabolites: Synergism, Antagonism, and Additivity -- The Use of Selected Medicinal Herbs for Chemoprevention and Treatment of Cancer, Parkinsons Disease, Heart Disease, and Depression -- Regulating Phytonutrient Levels in Plants Toward Modification of Plant Metabolism for Human Health -- Risks and Benefits Associated with Plant Biotechnology -- Risks and Benefits Associated with Genetically Modified (GM) Plants -- Risks Involved in the Use of Herbal Products -- Risks Associated with Overcollection of Medicinal Plants in Natural Habitats -- The Potential of Biofumigants as Alternatives to Methyl Bromide for the Control of Pest Infestation in Grain and Dry Food Products.

For this volume, we have brought together a group of contributors who address the most recent advances in plant biotechnology and what they mean for human progress and a more sustainable future. Plant biotechnology, which is gaining in importance, applies in three major areas: the control of plant growth and development, the protection of plants against environmental and biotic stresses, and the expansion of ways by which specialty foods, biochemicals and pharmaceuticals are produced. Our lives are being affected in many ways, particularly in connection with sustainable food production and distribution systems, genetically modified organisms, integrative medicine strategies to treat human diseases, bioremediation of toxic waste sites, alternative energy production systems that utilize bioenergy sources, and both risks and benefits that fall within the rubric of plant biotechnology. The topics covered in Recent Advances in Plant Biotechnology will be a valuable resource to plant biotechnologists, plant biologists, biochemists, molecular biologists, pharmacologists, and pharmacists; agronomists, plant breeders, and geneticists; ethnobotanists, ecologists, and conservationists; medical practitioners and nutritionists; research investigators in industry, federal laboratories, and universities; and students and teachers in the biological and biomedical sciences. Instructors and students will find particular interest in the provided content on plant functional genomics, gene and metabolic engineering, and molecular farming, as well as in the multiple examples of the transition from fundamental science to technological applications.

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