The Role of Bioinformatics in Agriculture

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.

Advances in information technology and next generation sequencing have propelled the use of bioinformatics in agriculture, especially in the area of crop improvement. An extremely large amount of genomics data is available from plants and animals due to tremendous improvements in the field. This book acquaints readers with state-of-the-art sequencing technologies, recent developments in computing algorithms, and certain biological perspectives that influence development of bioinformatics tools by giving specific examples from model plant species. The challenge is now to make sense and use of this wealth of data.

Introduction. Genome Data Mining Through Modern Sequencing Technologies. Comparison of Next-Generation Sequencing Systems. Why Assembling Plant Genome Sequences Is So Challenging. Genome Walking by Next Generation Sequencing Approaches. Molecular Tools for Exploring Polyploid Genomes in Plants. Wheat Genomics: Present Status and Future Prospects. Development in Rice Genome Research Based on Accurate Genome Sequence. Genomic Databases for Crop Improvement. Going Beyond DNA Variations to Understand Environmental Adaptations. Uncovering the Complexity of Transcriptomes with RNA-Seq. Efficient Experimental Design and Analysis Strategies for the Detection of Differential Expression Using RNA-Sequencing. Analyzing the microRNA Transcriptome in Plants Using Deep Sequencing Data. Maize (Zea mays L.) Genome Diversity as Revealed by RNA-Sequencing. Molecular Mechanisms of Epigenetic Variation in Plants. Metagenomics: A Guide from Sampling to Data Analysis. Single Nucleotide Polymorphism is the Ideal Marker. NP Markers and Their Impact on Plant Breeding. Genotyping-by-Sequencing in Plants. Index.