Genetics, Genomics and Breeding of Sugarcane

The fast-growing sugarcane plant is a major source of sugar (sucrose) in tropical and sub-tropical regions. The high productivity of the plant also makes it a key target for use as an energy crop. The fiber of the plant is used to generate electricity and produce ethanol as a fuel. Sugarcane is a hybrid of two species, each of which is genetically complex. The high level of genetic complexity in sugarcane creates challenges in the application of both conventional and molecular breeding to the genetic improvement of sugarcane as a sugar and energy crop. This book describes technologies that support the continued use and improvement of sugarcane as source of food and energy. Recent technology developments indicate the potential to greatly increase our understanding of the sugarcane plant by application of emerging genomic technologies. This should result in an increased rate of improvement of sugarcane for human uses.

Basic Information on the Sugarcane Plant, Robert Henry Molecular Cytogenetics, Nathalie Piperidis, George Piperidis, and Angélique D’Hont Diversity Analysis, Karen Aitken and Meredith McNeil Association Studies, Emma Huang, Karen Aitken, and Andrew George Molecular Genetic Linkage Mapping in Saccharum: Strategies, Resources and Achievements, S. Alwala and Collins A. Kimbeng Mapping, Tagging, and Map-Based Cloning of Simply Inherited Traits, Angélique D’Hont, Olivier Garsmeur, and Lynne McIntyre Molecular Mapping of Complex Traits, Maria M. Pastina, Luciana R. Pinto, Karine M. Oliveira, Anete Pereira de Souza, and Antonio A.F. Garcia Structural Genomics and Genome Sequencing, Andrew H Paterson, Glaucia M. Souza, Marie-Anne Van Sluys, Ray Ming, and Angelique D’Hont Functional Genomics: Transcriptomics of Sugarcane—Current Status and Future Prospects, Rosanne E. Casu, Carlos Takeshi Hotta, and Glaucia M. Souza Proteomics and Metabolomics, Derek Watt, Mike Butterfield, and Barbara Huckett Role of Bioinformatics as a Tool for Sugarcane Research, Rosanne E. Casu Future Prospects, Frederik C. Botha

Robert Henry, Centre for Plant Conservation Genetics, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia Chittaranjan Kole, Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, South Carolina, USA