Plants, genes & agriculture: sustainability through biotechnology

Cover......Page 1
Front Matter......Page 2
 Copyright Page......Page 5
 Brief Contents......Page 6
 Contents......Page 7
 Contributors......Page 18
 Preface......Page 20
Chapter 1 The Human Population and Its Food Supply in the 21st Century......Page 26
 1.1 Hunger and Malnutrition Persist in a World of Plenty......Page 27
 1.2 Human Population Growth Is Slowing......Page 29
 1.3 By How Much Does the Food Supply Need to Increase to Satisfy Future Demand?......Page 32
 1.4 Agriculture Must Become More Sustainable in the Future......Page 34
 1.5 An Uncertain Climate Presents Challenges to Food Production......Page 36
 1.6 Urbanization and Rising Living Standards Are Changing the Demand for Agricultural Products and the Way They Are Brought to M......Page 39
 1.7 Government Policies Play Pivotal Roles in Global Food Production......Page 42
 1.8 Agricultural Research Is Vital If We Are to Maintain a Secure Food Supply......Page 43
 1.9 Can Other Agricultural Methods and Policies Contribute to Feeding the Population?......Page 46
 1.10 Biotechnology Is Crucial for the Future of Food Production......Page 50
Chapter 2 A Changing Global Food System: One Hundred Centuries of Agriculture......Page 56
 2.1Hunting and Gathering Were the Methods of Food Procurement for Much of Human History......Page 57
 2.2 Agriculture Began in Several Places Some 10,000 Years Ago......Page 58
 2.3 Plants Are the Principal and Ultimate Source of All Our Food......Page 61
 2.4 Crop Production Today Takes Several Forms That Differ Dramatically in Productivity......Page 64
 2.5 Science-based Agricultural Practices Have Led to Significant Increases in Productivity......Page 69
 2.6 Farming and the Postharvest Food Delivery Pathway Combine to Provide Consumers with an Abundance of Different Foods......Page 74
 2.7 Agriculture and Food Production Are Significant Players in the Economic Systems of Developed Countries......Page 78
 2.8 Intensive Agriculture Has Environmental Effects That May Limit Its Long-term Sustainability......Page 80
Chapter 3 Plants in Human Nutrition, Diet, and Health......Page 86
 3.1 Animals Are Heterotrophs, Plants Are Autotrophs......Page 87
 3.2 Carbohydrates Are the Principal Source of Energy in the Human Diet......Page 88
 3.3 Fats Are a Source of Energy, Structural Components, and Essential Nutrients......Page 93
 3.4 Diets High in Energy Are Linked to Major Diseases......Page 97
 3.5 To Make Proteins, Animals Must Eat Proteins......Page 99
 3.6 Vitamins Are Small Molecules That Plants Can Make, but Humans and Other Animals Generally Cannot......Page 103
 3.7 Minerals and Water Are Essential for Life......Page 105
 3.8 Plants Produce Bioactive Molecules that Can Affect Human Health......Page 108
 3.9 The Consequences of Nutritional Deficiencies Can Be Severe and Long Lasting......Page 110
 3.10 Millions of Healthy Vegetarians and Vegans Are Living Proof that Animal Products Are Not a Necessary Component of the Human......Page 111
 3.11 Are Organically Grown Plants and Products from Animals Fed with Organic Feed Worth the Additional Price?......Page 112
 3.12 The Intestinal Microbiome Significantly Influences Health......Page 114
Chapter 4 Genes, Genomics, and Molecular Biology: The Basis of Modern Crop Improvement......Page 120
 4.1 Traits Are Inherited from One Generation to the Next......Page 121
 4.2 Genetic Information Is Replicated and Passed to New Cells during Cell Division......Page 124
 4.3 Genes Are Made of DNA......Page 128
 4.4 Gene Expression Involves RNA Synthesis Followed by Protein Synthesis......Page 131
 4.5 Gene Expression Is a Highly Regulated Process......Page 137
 4.6 Mutations Are Changes in Genes......Page 142
 4.7 Much of the Genome’s DNA Does Not Code for Proteins......Page 145
 4.8 DNA Can Be Manipulated in the Laboratory Using Tools from Nature......Page 146
 4.9 Creating GE Plants Depends on the Application of Naturally Occurring Horizontal Gene Transfer......Page 148
 4.10 Genome Sequencing and Bioinformatics Are Important Tools for Plant Biologists and Plant Breeders......Page 152
 4.11 Gene Editing Technologies Allow Us to Make Targeted Changes in an Organism’s DNA......Page 154
Chapter 5 Growth and Development: From Fertilized Egg Cell to Flowering Plant......Page 160
 5.1 The Plant Body Is Made Up of Cells, Tissues, and Organs......Page 161
 5.2 Development Is Characterized by Repetitive Organ Formation from Stem Cells......Page 165
 5.3 Gene Networks Interact with Hormonal and Environmental Signals to Regulate Development......Page 171
 5.4 In the First Stage of Development, Fertilized Egg Cells Develop into Embryos......Page 174
 5.5 Deposition of Food Reserves in Seeds Is an Important Aspect of Crop Yield......Page 178
 5.6 Maturation, Quiescence, and Dormancy Are Important Aspects of Seed Development......Page 179
 5.7 Formation of the Vegetative Body Is the Second Stage of Plant Development......Page 181
 5.8 Secondary Growth Produces New Vascular Tissues and Results in the Formation of Wood......Page 186
 5.9 Reproduction Involves the Formation of Flowers with Male and Female Organs......Page 188
 5.10 Fruits Help Plants Disperse Their Seeds......Page 192
 5.11 Developmental Mutants Are an Important Source of Variability to Create New Crop Varieties......Page 193
 5.12 Plant Cells are Totipotent: A Whole Plant Can Develop from a Single Cell......Page 195
Chapter 6 Converting Solar Energy into Crop Production......Page 200
 6.1 Photosynthetic Membranes Convert Light Energy to Chemical Energy......Page 203
 6.2 In Photosynthetic Carbon Metabolism, Chemical Energy Is Used to Convert CO2 to Carbohydrates......Page 207
 6.3 Sucrose and Other Polysaccharides Are Exported to Heterotrophic Plant Organs to Provide Energy for Growth and Storage......Page 211
 6.4 Plants Gain CO2 at the Cost of Water Loss......Page 213
 6.5 Plants Make a Dynamic Trade-off of Photosynthetic Efficiency for Photoprotection......Page 216
 6.6 Abiotic Environmental Factors Can Limit Photosynthetic Efficiency and Crop Productivity......Page 218
 6.7 How Efficiently Can Photosynthesis Convert Solar Energy into Biomass?......Page 221
 6.8 Opportunities Exist for Improving the Efficiency of Photosynthesis......Page 222
 6.9 Global Climate Change Interacts with Global Photosynthesis......Page 224
Chapter 7 The Domestication of Our Food Crops......Page 232
 7.1 Wheat Was Domesticated in the Near East......Page 233
 7.2 Rice Was Domesticated in Asia and Western Africa......Page 236
 7.3 Maize and Beans Were Domesticated in the Americas......Page 238
 7.4 Domestication Is Accelerated Evolution Involving Relatively Few Genes......Page 240
 7.5 Crop Evolution Was Marked by Genetic Bottlenecks That Decreased Diversity......Page 245
 7.6 Hybridization Plays a Role in the Appearance of New Crops, the Modification of Existing Crops, and the Development of Some T......Page 249
 7.7 Polyploidy Led to New Crops and New Traits......Page 250
 7.8 Sequencing Crop Plant Genomes Provides Insights into Plant Evolution......Page 252
Chapter 8 From Classical Plant Breeding to Molecular Crop Improvement......Page 260
 8.1 Plant Breeders Have a Long Wish List......Page 261
 8.2 Plant Breeding Involves Introduction of Genetic Diversity, Hybridization, and Selection of New Gene Combinations......Page 264
 8.3 Genetic Variation Manipulated by Selection Is the Key to Plant Breeding......Page 266
 8.4 The Breeding Method Chosen Depends on the Pollination System of the Crop......Page 270
 8.5 F1 Hybrids Yield Bumper Crops......Page 272
 8.6 Backcrossing Comes as Close as Possible to Manipulating Single Genes via Sexual Reproduction......Page 273
 8.7 Quantitative Traits Are More Complex to Manipulate Than Qualitative Traits......Page 275
 8.8 The Green Revolution Used Classical Plant Breeding Methods to Increase Wheat and Rice Yields......Page 277
 8.9 Tissue and Cell Culture Techniques Facilitate Plant Breeding......Page 280
 8.10 The Technologies of Gene Cloning and Plant Transformation Are Key Tools to Create GE Crops......Page 281
 8.11 Marker-assisted Breeding Helps Transfer Major Genes......Page 282
 8.12 Genome Sequencing Has Become an Essential Tool of Plant Breeding Programs......Page 285
 8.13 High-Throughput Trait Measurement Facilitates Phenotyping for Crop Breeding......Page 287
Chapter 9 Plant Propagation by Seeds and Vegetative Processes......Page 292
 9.1 Commercial Seed Production Is Often Distinct from Crop Production......Page 294
 9.2 Seed Certification Programs Guarantee and Preserve Seed Quality......Page 297
 9.3 Saving Seeds Securely Is an Important Aspect of Agriculture in Developing Countries......Page 298
 9.4 Seed Germination, Seedling Establishment, and Seed Treatments Are Important Agronomic Variables......Page 302
 9.5 Enhancing Microbial Biofertilizers in the Soil Is an Important Technology for Crop Production......Page 304
 9.6 Seed Banks Preserve Genetic Diversity for the Future......Page 306
 9.7 Sterile Tissue Culture Is Used for Micropropagation and the Production of Somatic Embryos......Page 308
 9.8 Grafting Is Widely Used in the Fruit Industry to Propagate Superior Varieties......Page 311
 9.9 Apomixis Is a Unique Way in which Some Plant Species Reproduce......Page 312
 10.1 Biological and Technological Innovations Have Improved Farming Practices since the Early Days of Agriculture......Page 318
 10.2 Innovations in Agriculture Require Substantial Research in Many Fields......Page 322
 10.3 Patents Stimulate Invention and Improvements......Page 326
 10.4 Farmers Obtain Seeds in Different Ways......Page 330
 10.5 Minor Crops and New Production Methods Are Important......Page 334
 10.6 Agricultural Technologies and Practices Are Subject to Oversight and Regulation......Page 336
Chapter 11 Soil Ecosystems, Plant Nutrition, and Nutrient Cycling......Page 344
 11.1 Soil Ecosystems Are Fundamental to Agriculture......Page 345
 11.2 Particles Created by Weathering Are the Medium of Soil Ecosystems......Page 347
 11.3 Living Organisms and Their Remains Are Important Components of Soil Ecosystems......Page 352
 11.4 Plants Need Six Mineral Elements in Large Amounts and Eight Others in Small Amounts......Page 354
 11.5 Productivity May Be Limited by the Availability of Soil Water and Nutrients......Page 357
 11.6 Soil Organic Matter Is a Key Determinant of Soil Fertility......Page 359
 11.7 Roots Are the Foundation of Soil Food Webs and Soil Adhesion......Page 360
 11.8 Phosphorus Is the Rock-derived Nutrient That Most Commonly Limits Crop Productivity......Page 362
 11.9 Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria and Industrial Nitrogen Fixation Drive the Nitrogen Cycle......Page 366
 11.10 Mycorrhizae Are Plant–Fungi Mutualisms That Help Plants Acquire Nutrients......Page 370
 12.1 Weeds Are Plants Adapted to Environments Disturbed by Humans......Page 376
 12.2 Weeds Interfere with Crop Plant Growth......Page 379
 12.3 Weed Control Is Achieved by Cultural, Mechanical, Biological, and Chemical Practices......Page 382
 12.4 Herbicides Kill Plants by Interfering with Vital Plant-specific Processes......Page 385
 12.5 First Chemistry and then Biotechnology Transformed Weed Control......Page 388
 12.6 Weeds Adapt to Our Attempts To Control Them......Page 389
 12.7 Herbicide Resistance and a Lack of New Herbicides Are Challenges to Weed Control......Page 390
 12.8 New Methods of Weed Control Are Emerging......Page 392
 13.1 Microbial Infections Diminish Crop Yields, but Plants Fight Back......Page 398
 13.2 Disease Epidemics Occur When Multiple Factors Converge......Page 400
 13.3 Viruses and Viroids Have Only a Few Genes......Page 402
 13.4 Cellular Pathogens Use Effector Proteins That Act in the Host Plant......Page 405
 13.5 Plant-pathogenic Bacteria Cause Many Economically Important Diseases......Page 406
 13.6 Pathogenic Fungi and Oomycetes Collectively Cause the Greatest Crop Losses......Page 408
 13.7 Chemical Strategies for Disease Control Can Be Effective but Problematic......Page 412
 13.8 Plants Mount Defenses to Ward Off Pathogens; Successful Pathogens Elude the Defenses......Page 415
 13.9 Resistance to Pathogens Can Be Introduced into Plants by Breeding and Genetic Engineering......Page 420
 13.10 The Plant Immune System Can Be Activated So Subsequent Infections Are Met with a Stronger Response......Page 423
Chapter 14 Biotic Challenges: Pests......Page 428
 14.1 Arthropod Pests Cause Substantial Crop Losses......Page 429
 14.2 Parasitic Nematodes Cause Substantial Crop Losses......Page 432
 14.3 Plants Have Chemical Defenses against Pests......Page 435
 14.4 Improved Cultural Practices Can Help Control Pests......Page 438
 14.5 Integrated Pest Management Can Control Outbreaks......Page 442
 14.6 Plant Breeding Methods Accelerate the Development of Pest-resistant Crop Varieties......Page 443
 14.7 Properly Applied, Synthetic Chemicals Can Provide Effective Pest Control......Page 445
 14.8 Genetically Engineered Plants Provide New Opportunities......Page 447
 14.9 Evolution Keeps Chemists, Plant Breeders, and Molecular Biologists Busy......Page 452
Chapter 15 Abiotic Stresses and How They Affect Crop Yield......Page 458
 15.1 Plants Sense Abiotic Stresses and Respond to Them......Page 459
 15.2 Plant Growth Depends on an Active Transpiration Stream......Page 463
 15.3 The Molecular Responses to Water Deficit Involve Signals from the Root......Page 469
 15.4 Too Much Water Depletes Oxygen in the Roots and Leads to Cell Death......Page 470
 15.5 Crops Experience Osmotic Stress and Sodium Toxicity......Page 473
 15.6 Plants Sequester Toxic Ions in Vacuoles......Page 476
 15.7 Heat Stress During Reproductive Growth Severely Diminishes Crop Yield......Page 477
 15.8 Many Crop Plants That Originated in Tropical Regions Are Sensitive to Cold......Page 479
 15.9 The Crops That Feed Humanity Are Not Well Adapted to Alkaline or Acidic Soils......Page 481
 15.10 Agricultural Practices and Global Climate Change May Exacerbate Abiotic Stresses......Page 484
Chapter 16 Introduced Traits That Benefit Farmers and Industry......Page 490
 16.1 Crops Bred Using Genetic Engineering Approaches Were Introduced in the Mid 1990s......Page 491
 16.2 Herbicide-tolerant GE Crops Facilitate Weed Management......Page 494
 16.3 Genetic Engineering of Insect Resistance Decreases Pesticide Use on Several Major Crops......Page 496
 16.4 Alleviating Water-deficit Stress Is an Increasingly Important Goal of Crop Improvement......Page 497
 16.6 Uptake and Assimilation of Nitrogen Can Be Enhanced by Genetic Transformation......Page 499
 16.7 Phosphate Uptake Can Be Improved by Transgenic and Traditional Approaches......Page 501
 16.8 Pod Shatter-resistant Canola Prevents Seed Losses and Increases Yield......Page 503
 16.9 Genetically Engineered Forest Trees Are a New Frontier in Biotechnology......Page 505
 16.10 Male-sterile Lines and Fertility-restorer Genes Facilitate Hybrid Seed Production......Page 508
Chapter 17 Introduced Traits That Benefit the Consumer......Page 512
 17.1 Enhancing Essential Nutrients or Eliminating Harmful Ones Creates Functional Foods......Page 513
 17.2 Golden Rice Is the Poster Child for Genetic Engineering in the Service of Humanity......Page 514
 17.3 Biofortifying Crops with Iron Is a Major Goal of Nutritionists......Page 517
 17.4 Heat-stable Vegetable Oils Are Better Suited for Deep-frying......Page 519
 17.5 Biotechnology Can Help Eliminate Food Allergens, but These Innovations May Not Come to Market......Page 521
 17.6 Acrylamide Can Be Eliminated from Processed Foods......Page 523
 17.7 Genetic Engineering Can Help Reduce Postharvest Food Losses......Page 524
 17.8 Conquering Citrus Greening Disease Could Lower the Price of Orange Juice......Page 526
 17.9 Are Tastier Tomatoes in Our Future?......Page 527
Chapter 18 Food Safety: Are Foods Made from GE Crops Safe to Eat?......Page 532
 18.1 Humans Have Continuously Been Exposed to Novel Foods......Page 533
 18.2 The Safety of Genetically Engineered Food Crops Has Been Extensively Debated......Page 536
 18.3 Genetically Engineered Food and Feed Crops Have an Excellent Safety Record......Page 537
 18.4 Specific Principles of Food Safety Assurance Apply to Foods and Feeds Developed Using Biotechnology......Page 539
 18.5 Evaluation of Variability Is a Major Tool to Limit Unintended Changes in GE Crops......Page 541
 18.6 Molecular Characterization of Intended Changes and Added Proteins Is a Necessary Component of Safety Assessment......Page 543
 18.7 Chemical Risk Evaluation Involves Investigating the Relationship between Degree of Exposure and Harmful Effects......Page 544
 18.8 Food Safety Experiments Demand High Standards of Experimental Design and Interpretation......Page 546
 18.9 Perspectives on the Impacts of Crop Biotechnology on Human and Animal Health Are Changing......Page 547
Chapter 19 Challenges and Solutions for Subsistence Farmers......Page 552
 19.1 Subsistence Farmers Grow a Diversity of Crops to Maintain Resiliency......Page 553
 19.2 Intensifying Agricultural Output on Smallholds Must Be a Priority......Page 558
 19.3 Water Is a Challenge for Smallhold Farmers......Page 561
 19.4 Degraded Soils and Soil Erosion Are Life-threatening Issues for Smallholders......Page 566
 19.5 Weed Control Is a Major Burden on Women and Girls in Developing Countries......Page 570
 19.6 Indigenous Farmers Have Strategies to Combat Pests and Diseases......Page 572
 19.7 There Are Hazards and Drudgery in Harvest and Postharvest Work......Page 574
 19.8 Maximizing Profit after Harvest Is Critical......Page 575
 19.9 The Public–Private Sector Job Creation Model Can Apply to Smallholders......Page 577
Chapter 20 Plants as Chemical Factories......Page 582
 20.1 Plant Secondary Metabolism Is a Treasure Chest of High-value Chemicals......Page 583
 20.2 Several Different Platforms Are Used to Produce Plant Secondary Metabolites for Human Use......Page 588
 20.3 Plant Cells Cultured in Bioreactors Constitute Sustainable “Green Factories”......Page 591
 20.4 Metabolic Engineering of Plants Results In Higher Yields and Superior Quality Chemicals......Page 594
 20.5 Transferring Metabolic Pathways into Microorganisms Is a Promising Approach to Producing Secondary Metabolites......Page 598
 20.6 Microalgae Are Potentially Renewable Resources for a Bio-based Society......Page 599
 20.7 The World Needs Biodegradable Plastics......Page 602
 21.1 Plants Can Be Used as Factories for Protein Biologics......Page 608
 21.2 There Are Several Production Strategies for Making Protein Biologics in Plants......Page 610
 21.3 Agroinfiltration Is an Effective Way of Delivering Transgenes into Plants......Page 611
 21.4 New Vectors for Gene Delivery Are Being Developed......Page 613
 21.5 The Plant Host and Plant Organs Used to Produce Biologics Must Be Chosen Carefully......Page 615
 21.6 Monoclonal Antibodies and Vaccine Candidates Can Be Produced in Plants......Page 619
 21.7 A Plant-manufactured Biologic Has Been Approved to Treat a Genetic Disease in Humans......Page 623
Chapter 22 Sustainable Food Production in the 21st Century......Page 628
 22.1 Agricultural Intensification and Sustainability Are Equally Important......Page 629
 22.2 Can We Decrease the Yield Gap?......Page 631
 22.3 Smarter Agronomy Can Deliver Higher Yields......Page 634
 22.4 Wider Acceptance of GE Technology Is Essential if We Are to Increase Food Supplies......Page 638
 22.5 Research Is Key to Increasing the Intensity of Crop Production......Page 639
 22.6 Education at All Levels Is Essential if We Are to Increase Food Production......Page 641
 22.7 Maintaining the Resource Base Is Essential for Food Production......Page 642
 22.8 We Must Diminish Agriculture’s Contribution to Climate Change and Global Pollution......Page 645
 22.9 Sustainability Will Require Greater Attention to Food Waste......Page 646
Index......Page 650
About the Book......Page 676
About the Chapter-Opening Photos......Page 678
Illustration Credits......Page 680
Glossary......Page 684