Bir Bahadur · Manchikatla Venkat Rajam Leela Sahijram · K. Krishnamurthy Editors Plant Biology and Biotechnology Volume I: Plant Diversity, Organization, Function and Improvement Plant Biology and Biotechnology Bir Bahadur • Manchikatla Venkat Rajam Leela Sahijram • K. Krishnamurthy Editors Plant Biology and Biotechnology Volume I: Plant Diversity, Organization, Function and Improvement Editors Bir Bahadur Manchikatla Venkat Rajam Sri Biotech Laboratories India Limited Department of Genetics Hyderabad, Telangana, India University of Delhi New Delhi, India Leela Sahijram Division of Biotechnology K. Krishnamurthy Indian Institute of Horticultural Center for Pharmaceutics, Research (IIHR) Pharmacognosy and Pharmacology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India School of Life Sciences Institute of Trans-Disciplinary Health Science and Technology (IHST) Bangalore, Karnataka, India ISBN 978-81-322-2285-9 ISBN 978-81-322-2286-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2286-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015941731 Springer New Delhi Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer India 2015 This work is subject to copyright.
All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication.
Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer (India) Pvt. is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.com) Foreword Plants are essential to humanity for food, environmental intensification and personal fulfillment. Plants are also the foundations of healthy ecosystems ranging from the Arctic to the tropics.
Plant biology is a living science deal- ing with the study of the structure and function of plants as living organisms, ranging from the cellular and molecular to the ecological stage. It concerns the scientific study of plants as organisms and deals with the disciplines of cellular and molecular plant biology and the traditional areas of botany, e., anatomy, morphology, systematic physiology, mycology, phy- cology, ecology, as well as evolution. The backbone of plant biology resides in its applications and spans from anatomy, plant physiology, and plant ecology to biochemistry, cell biology, and genetics. Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products or “any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use.” Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with bioengineering and biomedical engineering.
For thousands of years, humankind has exploited biotechnology in agri- culture, food production, and medicine. It is believed that the term biotech- nology was coined in 1919 by Hungarian engineer Károly Ereky. During the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, biotechnology was expanded to include diverse sciences such as genomics, recombinant gene technologies, applied immunology, and development of pharmaceutical therapies and diag- nostic tests. The past few years have witnessed the establishment of Departments or Institutes of Plant Biology and Biotechnology in different parts of the world.
As the integration of the two subjects has expanded, undergraduate and post- graduate degrees have been instituted with distinct syllabi. Over the years, extraordinary developments have taken place, and significant advances have been made in biotechnology and plant biology. Unfortunately, there are not many texts on the confluence of the two subjects; hence, there is a dire need for texts that are pertinent for teaching courses and conducting research in this area. The present set of volumes is compiled to fill this gap and is edited by four eminent, talented, and knowledgeable professionals, Profs.
Bir Baha- dur, M. Rajam, Leela Sahijram, and K. They have tried v vi Foreword to compile and cover major developmental processes to give the student a feel for scientific research. Volume 1 contains 33 chapters, describes the past, present, and future of plant biology and the principles and strategies, and summarizes the landmark of research done on various aspects.
The same authors have also compiled the first five chapters along with other colleagues to set the stage for the reader to comprehend the ensuing chapters. One chapter gives a comprehensive description of plant biodiversity; two chapters give an overview of plant– microbe interaction. Reproductive strategies of bryophytes, Cycads: an over- view constitute the contents of two chapters. A single cohesive chapter on AM fungi describes them as potential tools in present-day technologies required for sustainable agriculture and to lessen the dependence on chemical fertilizers.
The use of AM fungi as biofertilizers and bioprotectors to enhance crop production are well accepted, e., mining the nutrients, stimulating growth and yield, and providing resistance against water stress and pathogen challenge. The reproduction process by which organisms replicate them- selves in a way represents one of the most important concepts in biology. Through this, the continuity of the existence of species is ensured. At the base level, reproduction is chemical replication and with progressive evolution, cells with complexity have arisen and in angiosperms involving complex organs and elaborate hormonal mechanism.
Three chapters that exclusively deal with genetics of flower development, pre- and postfertilization growth, and development respectively are written in a masterly way. A single chapter on seed biology and technology should be of special interest to crop breeders and geneticists alike. The role of apomixis in crop improvement is most strik- ing, and attract the attention of crop breeders wanting to secure pure lines. Physiological aspects spanning from photosynthesis to mineral nutrition, which are important aspects of improving yield, have been reviewed pithily.
Four chapters discuss details of induced mutations, polyploidy, and male ste- rility in major crops, and the potential of the utilization of these techniques is essential to shaping scientific minds. These have been discussed in depth. Each chapter is compiled by a distinguished faculty who has taken seri- ously its commitment to satisfy the intellectual urge of lifelong learners. Areas of faculty research interest include cell and molecular biologists, geneticists, environmental biologists, organism biologists, developmental and regenerative biologists, and bioprocess technologists.
Each chapter pro- vides an authoritative account of the topic intended to be covered and has been compiled by one or more experts in the field. Each chapter concludes with carefully selected references that contain further information on the top- ics covered in that chapter. I am privileged to have known some of the authors both professionally and personally and am very excited to see their invaluable contributions. For the students wishing to update themselves in the convergence of biol- ogy and biotechnology, the present volume not only furnishes the basics of the life sciences but provides plenty of hands-on functional experience, start- ing with plant diversity, organization, function, and improvement.
Experi- enced life scientists, biologists, and biotechnologists have collaborated and pooled their talent and long experience in cross-disciplinary topics centered Foreword vii on recent research focus areas. Interdisciplinary experts have combined their academic talent and strengths to further scientific discoveries in areas such as microbial diversity; divergent roles of microorganisms; overview of bryo- phytes, cycads, and angiosperms; etc. The strength of the volume lies in reproductive biology e., genetics of flower development, pre- and postfertil- ization reproductive growth, and development in angiosperms. From finding better ways to deliver crop improvement, perk up the quality of produce, and exploit plant genomics and plant-based technologies to the myriad other ways, the life sciences touch our world, and there has never been a more exciting – or important – time to be a life scientist.
If you want to learn more about what biology and biotechnology in plants can do for you, please pick up this volume and browse in depth. This volume is intended for scientists, professionals, and postgraduate stu- dents interested in plant biology and biotechnology or life sciences. The vol- ume will be indispensible for botanists, plant scientists, agronomists, plant breeders, geneticists, evolutionary biologists, and microbiologists. Honorary Scientist of the Indian, National Satish C.
Maheshwari Science Academy, Biotechnology Laboratories Centre for Converging Technologies University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India Preface Plant biology has been a fundamental area of biology for many centuries now, but during the last 30 years or so, it has undergone great transformation lead- ing to a better and deeper understanding of many key fundamental processes in plants. The idea of preparing these two volumes grew out of a need for a suitable book on plant biology and biotechnology for contemporary needs of students and researchers. The present volumes, to the best of our belief and knowl- edge, cover the most contemporary areas not adequately covered in most, if not all, books currently available on plant biology, plant biotechnology, plant tissue culture and plant molecular biology. Every effort has, therefore, been made to integrate classical knowledge with modern developments in these areas covering several new advances and technologies.
This will definitely enable a better understanding of many aspects of plants: molecular biology of vegetative and reproductive development, genetically engineered plants for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance as well as other useful traits, use of molec- ular markers in breeding, all the ‘-omics’ and various biotechnological aspects of benefit to mankind to meet challenges of the twenty-first century, to mention just a few. These books have been designed to provide advanced course material for post-graduates in plant sciences and plant biotechnology, applied botany, agricultural sciences, horticulture and plant genetics and molecular biology. These also serve as a source of reference material to research scholars, teach- ers and others who need to constantly update their knowledge. Volume 1 of the book provides an in-depth analysis on topical areas of plant biology, with focus on Plant Diversity, Organization, Function and Improvement, including mechanisms of growth, differentiation, development and morphogenesis at the morphological, cellular, biochemical, genetic, molecular and genomic levels.
Contributors to these volumes were selected from a wide range of institu- tions in order to introduce a diversity of authors, and at the same time, these authors were selected with vast expertise in their specific areas of research to match with the diversity of the topics. These authors not only have a deep understanding of the subject of their choice to write critical reviews by inte- grating available information from classical to modern sources but have also endured an unending series of editorial suggestions and revisions of their manuscripts. Needless to say, this is as much their book as ours. ix x Preface We hope these books will help our fellow teachers and a generation of students to enter the fascinating world of plant biology with confidence, as perceived and planned by us.
Hyderabad, Telangana, India Bir Bahadur New Delhi, India Manchikatla Venkat Rajam Bangalore, Karnataka, India Leela Sahijram Bangalore, Karnataka, India K. Krishnamurthy Acknowledgements First and foremost, we are immensely grateful to all the contributing authors for their positive response. We are also grateful to Prof. Maheshwari for kindly agreeing and writing a Foreword for this volume.
We wish to express our grateful thanks to a number of friends and col- leagues for their invaluable help in many ways and for their suggestions from time to time during the evolution of the two volumes. We also thank research scholars of Prof. Rajam (University of Delhi South Campus) – Shipra Saxena, Meenakshi Tetorya, Mahak Sachdeva, Bhawna Israni, Mamta, Manish Pareek, Anjali Jaiwal, Jyotsna Naik, Sneha Yogindran and Ami Choubey for their help in formatting the chapters. We also thank Dr John Adams for his help in preparing the subject index.
We wish to express our appreciation for help rendered by Ms. Surabhi Shukla, Ms.