Molecular Breeding of Forage and Turf Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium, Molecular Breeding of Forage and Turf, Dallas, Texas, and Ardmore, Oklahoma, U.S.A., May, 18-22, 2003

Forage and turf are the backbone of sustainable agriculture and contribute extensively to the world economy. The fast-paced advancement of cellular and molecular biology provides novel methods to accelerate or complement conventional breeding efforts. This book contains the most comprehensive reviews on the latest development in applications of molecular techniques for the improvement of forage grasses, forage legumes and turf grasses. Detailed accounts and future opportunities in molecular breeding of forage and turf, from gene discovery to development of improved cultivars, are described in the book. Almost all relevant areas are explored in detail, including tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses; flowering control; plant-symbiont relations; breeding for animal, human and environmental welfare; molecular markers; transgenics; bioinformatics; population genetics; genomics of the model legume M. truncatula; field testing and risk assessment as well as intellectual property rights. This book will be of interest to researchers in both academia and industry who are involved in forage and turf improvement. It will be especially important to breeders, molecular biologists, geneticists, physiologists and agronomists.

Overview of Forage and Turf Biotechnology.- Molecular Improvement of Forages — from Genomics to GMOs.- Tolerance to Biotic Stress.- Molecular Breeding and Functional Genomics for Tolerance to Biotic Stress.- QTL Mapping of Gray Leaf Spot Resistance in Ryegrass, and Synteny-based Comparison with Rice Blast Resistance Genes in Rice.- Differential Gene Expression in Bermudagrass Associated with Resistance to a Fungal Pathogen.- Genetic Diversity and Pathogenicity of the Grass Pathogen Xanthomonas translucens pv. graminis.- Tolerance to Abiotic Stress.- Molecular Breeding and Functional Genomics for Tolerance to Abiotic Stress.- Application of AFLP and GISH Techniques for Identification of Festuca Chromosome Segments Conferring Winter Hardiness in a Lolium perenne × Festuca pratensis Population.- A Functional Genomics Approach for Identification of Heat Tolerance Genes in Tall Fescue.- Quantitative Trait Locus Mapping of Winter Hardiness Metabolites in Autotetraploid Alfalfa (M. sativa).- Flowering and Reproductive Development.- Molecular Genetics and Modification of Flowering and Reproductive Development.- Identification and Mapping of Self-incompatibility Related Genes in Lolium perenne.- Genomics of Plant-Symbiont Relation.- Functional Analysis of the Perennial Ryegrass — Epichloë Endophyte Interaction.- Gene Discovery and Microarray-Based Transcriptome Analysis in Grass Endophytes.- Genetic Diversity in the Perennial Ryegrass Fungal Endophyte Neotyphodium lolii.- Improvement for Animal, Human and Environmental Welfare.- Molecular Breeding for Animal, Human and Environmental Welfare.- Improving Forage Quality of Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea) by Genetic Manipulation of Lignin Biosynthesis.- Cloning of Red Clover and Alfalfa Polyphenol Oxidase Genes and Expression of Active Enzymes in Transgenic Alfalfa.- Development and Application of Molecular Technologies in Forage and Turf Improvement.- Molecular Marker-Based Genetic Analysis of Pasture and Turf Grasses.- EST-SSRs for Genetic Mapping in Alfalfa.- Controlling Transgene Escape in Genetically Modified Grasses.- Comparison of Transgene Expression Stability after Agrobacterium-mediated or Biolistic Gene Transfer into Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.).- Bioinformatics.- Bioinformatics: Bringing Data to a Usable Form for Breeders.- Data Integration and Target Selection for Medicago Genomics.- Population and Quantitative Genetics.- Population and Quantitative Genetic Aspects of Molecular Breeding.- AFLP-marker Analyses of Genetic Structure in Nordic Meadow Fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) — Tracing the Origin of Norwegian Cultivars and Local Populations.- Spatial Autocorrelation Analysis of Genetic Structure Within White Clover Populations.- Dissection of Heterosis in Alfalfa Hybrids.- Functional Genomics and Genome Sequencing of Medicago truncatula.- From Models to Crops: Integrated Medicago Genomics for Alfalfa Improvement.- Sequencing Gene Rich Regions of Medicago truncatula, a Model Legume.- Field Test, Risk Assessment and Biosafety.- Agricultural Biotechnology and Environmental Risks: A Program Perspective.- Field Evaluation of Transgenic White Clover with AMV Immunity and Development of Elite Transgenic Germplasm.- Field Evaluation and Risk Assessment of Transgenic Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea) Plants.- Intellectual Property Rights.- Protecting Plant Inventions.