Crop Breeding ─ Bioinformatics and Preparing for Climate Change

Climate change will severely impact the world’s food supply unless steps are taken to increase crop resilience. Otherwise, the negative effects on both the yield and the quality of crop plants are predicted to be immense. Plant genomics is a potentially powerful defense against this looming threat.

This compendium volume offers a global perspective on the topic, with contributions from 42 eminent researchers from 12 nations around the world. The editor is a respected and published scientist in the bioinformatics field, who has chosen articles in the following topics:

• An overview of the genetic challenges presented by climate change
• A genomic toolkit for crop-related research
• Specific methods of improvement for specific crop by means of genomic applications

The hand-picked up-to-date research makes this volume an excellent reference not only for university-level academics, but also for policymakers and stakeholders who must tackle the challenge of the world’s food security.

Dr. Santosh Kumar obtained his BSc agriculture degree in plant breeding from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. He obtained his MSc working on wheat phytosiderophores from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India, and PhD working on control of flowering and germination in barley from the University of Manitoba, Canada. At present, Dr. Kumar is stationed at the Cereal Research Centre, Manitoba, Canada, working for the University of Manitoba. Dr. Kumar has studied various disciplines in plant sciences and received many awards throughout his academic career. His current interests include crop genomics and bioinformatics. Dr. Kumar is member of various plant science societies in Canada and the US. Dr. Kumar has publications that include research articles, a review paper, and a book chapter in areas of plant physiology, genetics, and bioinformatics.