Introduction to Plant Biotechnology

The last decade has been a period of remarkable change which has taken plant biotechnology from study of the science itself to large-scale commercial applications. This is true for almost every aspect of plant biotechnology, both applying basic knowledge of molecular biology and gene organisation such as development of molecular markers to speed up plant breeding practices and using knowledge of genes and how to control expression of those genes to generate and commercialise transgenic crops.

In general, the application of plant biotechnology can be divided into two categories: those directed towards the same goals as conventional plant breeding (e.g. improved yield, quality, resistance to pests and diseases, tolerance to abiotic stresses) and completely novel applications (such as the use of plants as bioreactors to generate pharmaceuticals, vaccines or biodegradable plastics). The emphasis of this chapter therefore reflects these changes and is focused more on the application of plant biotechnology rather than the detailed molecular biology which underlies those applications.