Model plants and crop improvement / edited by Rajeev K. Varshney, Robert M.D. Koebner.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Development and application of genomic models for large-crop plant genomes / Robert M.D. Koebner and Rajeev K. Varshney -- Conserved mechanisms of dormancy and germination as targets for manipulation of agricultural problems / Michael Holdsworth, Leónie Bentsink, and Maarten Koornneef -- Utilization of Arabidopsis and Brassica genomic resources to underpin genetic analysis and improvement of Brassica crops / Graham J. King -- Characterization of the completed rice genome sequence and scope of its utilization in cereal improvement / Baltazar A. Antonio and Takuji Sasaki -- Model legume Medicago truncatula / Henk Franssen and René Geurts -- Brachypodium distachyon : a new model system for structural and functional analysis of grass genomes / David F. Garvin -- The green alga Chlamydomonas as a tool to study the nitrate assimilation pathway in plants / Aurora Galván ... [et al.] -- Transcription factors regulating plant defense responses / Pierre R. Fobert -- Defense signaling and pathway interactions involved in rice disease resistance / Xiangjun Zhou, Tameka Bailey, and Yinong Yang -- Identification of heat-shock factor regulated genes and pathways / Friedrich Schöffl ... [et al.] -- Improving low-temperature tolerance in plants / Markku K. Aalto, Pekka Heino, and E. Tapio Palva.

The development and application of genomic models for large crop plant genomes / R.M.D. Koebner, and R.K. Varshney -- Conserved mechanisms of dormancy and germination as targets for manipulation of agricultural problems using Arabidopsis as model system / M. Holdsworth, L. Bentsink, and M. Koornneef -- Utilization of Arabidopsis and Brassica resources for improvement of Brassica crops / G.J. King -- Characterization of the completed rice genome sequence and its utilization in cereal genomics / B.A. Antonio, and T. Sasaki -- Model legume Medicago truncatula / H. Franssen, and R. Geurts -- Brachypodium distachyon, a new model system for structural and functional analysis of grass genomes / D.F. Garvin -- The green alga Chlamydomonas as a tool to study the nitrate assimilation pathway in plants / A. Galván, V. Mariscal, D. González-Ballester, and E. Fernández -- Transcription factors regulating plant defense responses / P.R. Fobert -- Defense signaling and pathway interactions involved in rice disease resistance / X. Zhou, T. Bailey, and Y. Yang -- Identification of heat shock factor regulated genes and pathways / F. Schöffl, W. Busch, M. Kumar, and T.J. Panikulangara -- Understanding of biological mechanisms of low temperature stress in plants by using Arabidopsis / M.K. Aalto, P. Heino, and E.T. Palva.

Offers a critical assessment of the potential of model plant species for crop improvement. This book provides a summary of the use of model plant systems. It delineates the model species' contribution to understanding the genomes of crop species.