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Just five decades have passed since Watson and Crick deciphered the double helix structure of DNA the stuff of genes and laid the groundwork for modern biotechnology. Today we know the full genetic sequence of more than sixty living organisms. In 2001 more than 5.5 million farmers worldwide planted about 52.6 million hectares of crops that were genetically manipulated. Now the area has expanded further with India and Indonesia joining twelve other countries including China Mexico South Africa and Argentina in approving the commercial planting of GM crops. But agricultural biotechnology means a lot more than the creation of GM crops. It also involves the use of tissue culture to rapidly propagate disease free seedling plants and to create new hybrids between plants that do not cross naturally the use of sophisticated DNA based genetic markers that allow breeders to follow and select for important traits more easily and the use of DNA chips and other DNA based diagnostic techniques to characterize pathogen populations for more effective deployment of resistant varieties. This book sheds light on the same while also elaborating on how the future of the world’s food systems will be revolutionized by plant biotechnology.
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