Biology of Brassica Coenospecies (Volume 4) (Developments in Plant Genetics and Breeding, Volume 4)

Brassica crop species and their allies ( Raphanus, Sinapis, Eruca, etc.) are important sources of edible roots, stems, leaves, buds and inflorescences, as well as of edible or industrial oils, condiments and forage. Many well known names of plants or plant products, such as kale, cabbage, brocolli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohl-rabi, Chinese cabbage, turnip, rape, rutabaga, swede, colza or rapeseed, canola, mustard, rocket, etc. are directly associated to this botanical group. The scientific interest for this botanical group has run parallel to its economical importance, and research achievements in our days would have certainly appeared unimaginable only two decades ago. As the end of the millenium approaches, entirely new fields (transformation, somatic fusion, etc.) have been added to the classical ones. Thus, nobody can doubt the opportuneness of this book, which combines and presents both the basic and applied biological aspects of the Brassica species. Content: Foreword Page v 1 Taxonomy Original Research Article Pages 3-32 César Gómez-Campo 2 Origin and domestication Original Research Article Pages 33-58 César Gómez-Campo, Shyam Prakash 3 Cytogenetics Original Research Article Pages 59-106 Shyam Prakash, Yoshihito Takahata, Pulugurtha B. Kirti, Virender L. Chopra 4 Somatic hybridization Original Research Article Pages 107-148 Kristina Glimelius 5 Self-incompatibility Original Research Article Pages 149-183 Masao Watanabe, Kokichi Hinata 6 Male sterility Original Research Article Pages 185-216 Régine Delourme, Françoise Budar 7 Genome structure and mapping Original Research Article Pages 217-245 Carlos F. Quiros 8 Haploidy Original Research Article Pages 247-286 Constantine E. Palmer, Wilfred A. Keller 9 Genetic engineering Original Research Article Pages 287-313 Elizabeth D. Earle, Vic C. Knauf 10 Chemical composition Original Research Article Pages 315-357 Eduardo A.S. Rosa 11 Physiology Original Research Article Pages 359-373 Paul Hadley, Simon Pearson 12 Diseases Original Research Article Pages 375-411 Jalpa P. Tewari, Richard F. Mithen 13 Breeding: An overview Original Research Article Pages 413-460 Heiko C. Becker, Harm Löptien, Gerhard Röbbelen 14 Genetic resources Original Research Article Pages 461-479 Ietje W. Boukema, Theo J.L. van Hintum Subject index Pages 481-489 Brassica crop species and their allies ( Raphanus, Sinapis, Eruca, etc.) are important sources of edible roots, stems, leaves, buds and inflorescences, as well as of edible or industrial oils, condiments and forage. Many well known names of plants or plant products, such as kale, cabbage, brocolli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohl-rabi, Chinese cabbage, turnip, rape, rutabaga, swede, colza or rapeseed, canola, mustard, rocket, etc. are directly associated to this botanical group. The scientific interest for this botanical group has run parallel to its economical importance, and research achievements in our days would have certainly appeared unimaginable only two decades ago. As the end of the millenium approaches, entirely new fields (transformation, somatic fusion, etc.) have been added to the classical ones. Thus, nobody can doubt the opportuneness of this book, which combines and presents both the basic and applied biological aspects of the Brassica species Coenospecies is not a taxonomic category but a cytogenetical concept whose taxonomic counterpart could consist of a group of "allies" or "relatives" to a given taxon.