208-302 Molecular Biology and Breeding

202-103 Biology for Land and Food Resources and 202-101 Chemistry for Land and Food Resources. 650-142 Genetics and the Evolution of Life is desirable but not essential.

On completion of this subject students should:

• understand the principles and methodology of crop and animal breeding, and the contribution of genes to development of quantitative traits; and

• have basic understanding of molecular biology, genetic engineering and its impact on agriculture (plant and animal), horticulture, forestry and the food industry.

Topics include nature of genes and regulation of gene expression at the molecular level; introduction to gene manipulation and recombinant technology for production of improved food and forest plants, crops and food animals; management of transgenic plants, crops and animals in agricultural systems; risks and concerns regarding environmental release of transgenic organisms, and safety criteria for transgenic food; principles and methodology of crop and animal breeding, basic population genetics and genetic development of quantitative traits; evolutionary processes and genetic variability of plant populations; world-wide distribution and conservation of plant genetic resources; methods of breeding self- and cross-pollinating plants, development of hybrids, chromosome manipulation and polyploidy; methods for breeding disease and insect resistance in agricultural plants; molecular markers for DNA fingerprinting, genetic diversity, marker-assisted selection; and special techniques in plant breeding, somatic hybridisation and tissue culture.

Two-hour end-of-semester examination (50%), one-hour mid-semester test (25%), written project report (4000 words, 25%).