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An image of multiple chromosomes, taken from many cells. Plant genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity specifically in plants. [1] [2] It is generally considered a field of biology and botany, but intersects frequently with many other life sciences and is strongly linked with the study of information systems.
Humans have traded useful plants from distant lands for centuries, and plant hunters have been sent to bring plants back for cultivation. Human agriculture has had two important results: the plants most favoured by humans came to be grown in many places and (2) gardens and farms have provided some opportunities for plants to interbreed that would not have been possible for their wild ancestors.
Exposing plants to radiation is sometimes called radiation breeding and is a sub class of mutagenic breeding. Radiation breeding was discovered in the 1920s when Lewis Stadler of the University of Missouri used X-rays on maize and barley. In the case of barley, the resulting plants were white, yellow, pale yellow and some had white stripes. [10]
Later, the cytological basis of the gene-chromosome theory of heredity extended from about 1900–1944 and was initiated by the rediscovery of Gregor Mendel's (1822–1884) laws of plant heredity first published in 1866 in Experiments on Plant Hybridization and based on cultivated pea, Pisum sativum: this heralded the opening up of plant genetics.
Sometimes genetic modification can produce a plant with the desired trait or traits faster than classical breeding because the majority of the plant's genome is not altered. To genetically modify a plant, a genetic construct must be designed so that the gene to be added or removed will be expressed by the plant.
One is a plant gene called the resistance gene. The other is a parasite gene called the avirulence (Avr) gene. Plants producing a specific R gene product are resistant towards a pathogen that produces the corresponding Avr gene product. [5] Gene-for-gene relationships are a widespread and very important aspect of plant disease resistance.
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A key event in the conservation of plant genetic resources was the establishment of the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR) (now Bioversity International) in 1974, whose mandate was to promote and assist in the worldwide effort to collect and conserve the plant germplasm needed for future research and production. IBPGR ...