Nigel Halford 
Plant Biotechnology 
Current and Future Applications of Genetically Modified Crops

Plant Biotechnology: Current and Future Uses of Genetically
Modified Crops covers in detail the development, use and
regulation of GM crops. Split into three sections, Part
1 introduces GM crops and describes the GM crops that are
used commercially. Part 2 looks at new developments and
methodologies in areas including potential applications of GM crops
for the production of vaccines, enhanced nutritional value of GM
food, and engineering resistance to fungal pathogens. Part 3
concludes by considering the key issues of safety and legislation,
including allergenicity, environmental impacts, risk assessment and
labelling.

Key features:

* Covers the topic in depth and addresses key subject areas

* Takes a broad view of the current situation in different
countries

* Examines the commercial application of plant biotechnology in
the USA and China

* Covers two major areas of public concern: allergenicity and
gene flow

* Covers new developments in plant research, safety and
legislation aspects

This book is essential reading for postgraduates and researchers
in plant biotechnology and related sciences in Departments of Plant
Science, Biotechnology, Bioscience, Environmental Science, Food
Biosciences and Chemistry. It is also of interest for professionals
working in the plant biotechnology industry or government
professionals working in environmental policy.

Table of Content

List of Contributors.

Preface.

PART I: THE CURRENT SITUATION.

1.1 From Primitive Selection to Genetic Modification, Ten
Thousand Years of Plant Breeding (Nigel G. Halford).

1.2 Crop Biotechnology in the United States: Experiences and
Impacts (Sujatha Sankula).

1.3 Development of Biotech Crops in China (Qingzhong Xue, Yuhua
Zhang and Xianyin Zhang).

PART II: NEW DEVELOPMENTS.

2.1 Advances in Transformation Technologies (Huw D. Jones).

2.2 Enhanced Nutritional Value of Food Crops (Dietrich Rein and
Karin Herbers).

2.3 The Production of Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in
Transgenic Plants (Louise V. Michaelson,
Frédéric Beaudoin, Olga Sayanova and
Johnathan A. Napier).

2.4 The Application of Genetic Engineering to the Improvement of
Cereal Grain Quality (Peter R. Shewry).

2.5 Improvements in Starch Quality (Michael M. Burrell).

2.6 Production of Vaccines in GM Plants (Liz Nicholson, M.
Carmen Can~izares and George P. Lomonossoff).

2.7 Prospects for Using Genetic Modification to Engineer Drought
Tolerance in Crops (S.G. Mundree, R. Iyer, B. Baker, N. Conrad,
E.J. Davis, K. Govender, A.T. Maredza and J.A. Thomson).

2.8 Salt Tolerance (Eduardo Blumwald and Anil Grover).

2.9 Engineering Fungal Resistance in Crops (Maarten
Stuiver).

PART III: SAFETY AND REGULATION.

3.1 Plant Food Allergens (E.N. Clare Mills, John A. Jenkins and
Peter R. Shewry).

3.2 Environmental Impact and Gene Flow (P.J.W. Lutman and K.
Berry).

3.3 Risk Assessment, Regulation and Labeling (Nigel G.
Halford).

Index.

About the author

Dr. Nigel Halford is principal research scientist in the Crop Performance and Improvement Division at Rothamsted Research (a BBSRC centre). He has achieved renown as an expert in the GM field, and has strong collaborative research links within academia and industry, and is regularly involved in public debates on GM crops.