This book covers all the important aspects of plant tissue culture viz. nutrition media, micropropagation, organ culture, cell suspension culture, haploid culture, protoplast isolation and fusion, secondary metabolite production, somaclonal variation and cryopreservation. For good understanding of recombinant DNA technology, chapters on genetic material, organization of DNA in the genome and basic techniques involved in recombinant DNA technology have been added. Different aspects on rDNA technology covered gene cloning, isolation of plant genes, transposons and gene tagging, in vitro mutagenesis, PCR, molecular markers and marker assisted selection, gene transfer methods, chloroplast and mitochondrion DNA transformation, genomics and bioinformatics. Genomics covers functional and structural genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, sequencing status of different organisms and DNA chip technology. Application of biotechnology has been discussed as transgenics in crop improvement and impact of recombinant DNA technology mainly in relation to biotech crops.

    The new edition of the acclaimed bestseller, always praised for offering cutting edge material in the context of landmark experiments, in a student friendly format built on pedagogy not usually found in immunology texts.

    Wilson published Sociobiology, it generated a firestorm of criticism, mostly focused on the book's final chapter, in which Wilson applied lessons learned from animal behavior to human society. In Defenders of the Truth, Ullica Segerstrale takes a hard look at the sociobiology controversy, sorting through a hornet's nest of claims and counterclaims, moral concerns, metaphysical beliefs, political convictions, strawmen, red herrings, and much juicy gossip. The result is a fascinating look at the world of modern science. Segerstrale has interviewed all the major participants, including such eminent scientists as Stephen Jay Gould, Richard C. Lewontin, Richard Dawkins, John Maynard Smith, Nobel Laureates Peter Medawar and Salvador Luria, and of course Edward Wilson. She reveals that most of the criticism of Wilson was unfair, but argues that it was not politically motivated. Instead, she sees the conflict over sociobiology as a drawn-out battle about the nature of good science and the social responsibility of the scientist. Behind the often nasty attacks were the very different approaches to science taken by naturalists (such as Wilson) and experimentalists (such as Lewontin), between the planters and the weeders. The protagonists were all defenders of the truth, Segerstrale concludes, it was just that everyone's truth was different. Defenders of the Truth touches on grand themes such as the unity of knowledge, human nature, and free will and determinism, and it shows how the sociobiology controversy can shed light on the more recent debates over the Human Genome Project and The Bell Curve. It will appeal to all readers of Edward O. Wilson or Stephen Jay Gould and all those who enjoy a behind-the-scenes peek at modern science.

    The word phylogeography was coined in 1987, and since then the scientific literature has reflected an exploding interest in the topic. Yet, to date, no book-length treatment of this emerging field has appeared. Phylogeography: The History and Formation of Species fills that gap.The study of phylogeography grew out of the observation that mitochondrial DNA lineages in natural populations often display distinct geographic orientations. In recent years, the field has expanded to include assessments of nuclear as well as cytoplasmic genomes and the relationships among gene trees, population demography, and organismal history, often formalized as coalescent theory. Phylogeography has connections to molecular evolutionary genetics, natural history, population biology, paleontology, historical geography, and speciation analysis.Phylogeography captures the conceptual and empirical richness of the field, and also the sense of genuine innovation that phylogeographic perspectives have brought to evolutionary studies.This book will be essential reading for graduate students and professionals in evolutionary biology and ecology as well as for anyone interested in the emergence of this new and integrative discipline.

    Knowledge about the structure and functioning of genes abounds, but the gene has also become curiously intangible. This collection of essays renews the question: what are genes? This book is unique in that it is the first interdisciplinary volume, written by philosophers, historians, and working scientists, solely devoted to the quest for the gene. It will be of interest to professionals and students in the philosophy and history of science, genetics, and molecular biology.