The road from basic genomics research to achieving impacts in routine plant breeding programs has been long, bumpy, and scattered with wrong turns and unexpected blockades. A new publication by CIMMYT molecular breeder/senior scientist Yunbi Xu provides a roadmap for how biotechnology can make plant breeding more efficient and lead to overall crop improvement.
Molecular Plant Breeding, published by CABI, is over 700 pages long and contains an integration of approaches and an overview of various plant improvement methods, such as molecular markers, gene mapping, and quantitative genetics. Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, visionary plant breeder and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the Green Revolution, and Dr Ronald L. Phillips, Regents Professor and McKnight Presidential Chair in Genomics, University of Minnesota, each contributed a foreword for the book. Also included in the book is a memoriam for Dr. Borlaug contributed by Thomas A. Lumpkin, CIMMYT Director General; Marianne Bänziger, Deputy Director General for Research and Partnerships; and Hans-Joachim Braun, Director of the Global Wheat Program.
Yunbi extends a heartfelt thanks to the many people who assisted him in this eight-year endeavor, including the eight CIMMYT co-workers who provided review expertise.
