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2009
Book Article
Titel
Plant biotechnology
Abstract
Modern techniques in biotechnology have rapidly expanded the horizons of plant breeding and crop improvement. Conventional plant breeding exploits mutagenesis and crossing within a species (or between closely related species) to produce new crop varieties or lines with desirable properties. In combination with improved cultivation methods, it has been possible to create crops with better yields, improved nutritional quality and resistance to stress or pathogens. In classical crossing procedures, the parental genes are randomly assorted. Since plants contain tens of thousands of genes, the alleles are extensively mixed during crossing, and selection procedures are required to identify progenies containing the combinations of alleles most likely to provide the desired properties. In contrast, gene technology enables the direct introduction of single genes resulting in a defined novel crop trait. In this process it is also possible to use genes from diverse species, such as bacteria, dissimilar plants and mammals, making the process even more target-orientated since it becomes possible to introduce traits that could never be obtained by conventional breeding.