**Meet the editor**

Dr. Mohamed Ahmed El-Esawi is currently a visiting research fellow at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and an associate professor of molecular genetics at the Botany Department of Tanta University in Egypt. Dr. El-Esawi received his BSc and MSc from Tanta University, and his PhD degree in Plant Genetics and Molecular Biology from Dublin Institute of Technol-

ogy, Technological University Dublin, in Ireland. Afterward, Dr. El-Esawi joined the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, the University of Sorbonne (Paris VI) in France, and the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium as a visiting research fellow. His research focuses on plant genetics, genomics, molecular biology, molecular physiology, developmental biology, plant-microbe interaction, and bioinformatics. He has authored several international journal articles and book chapters and has participated in more than 60 conferences and workshops worldwide. Dr. El-Esawi is currently involved in several research projects on biological sciences.

Contents

**Preface VII**

**Diversity in Plant Species 1**

Mohamed A. El-Esawi

**Germplasms 7**

Chacón-Sánchez

Masatoshi Funabashi

Chapter 1 **Introductory Chapter: Assessment and Conservation of Genetic**

Chapter 2 **Morphological, Biochemical, and Molecular Characterization of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam)**

Chaudhary, Kapil Dev Ameta and Abhijeet Singh

Chapter 4 **Induced Mutation: Creating Genetic Diversity in Plants 41**

Chapter 5 **Water and Ecosystem Cycles Mediated by Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture 57**

Chapter 6 **Genetic Variability of Mountain Pine (Pinus hartwegii Lindl) in**

**the Protection of Flora and Fauna Area Nevado de Toluca 71** Rosa Laura Heredia-Bobadilla, Guadalupe Gutiérrez-González, Amaury-M. Arzate-Fernández and Sergio Franco-Maass

Kamile Ulukapi and Ayse Gul Nasircilar

Chapter 3 **Bean Genome Diversity Reveals the Genomic Consequences of Speciation, Adaptation, and Domestication 27**

Andrés J. Cortés, Paola Hurtado, Mathew W. Blair and María I.

Anubhuti Sharma, Devendra Jain, Sunil Kumar Khandelwal, Ravish

## Contents

#### **Preface XI**


Preface

 

 

> 

plant genetic diversity research work.

vation of these forests.

 

Genetic diversity is the raw material that helps plant species face a wide range of daily glob‐ al changes. It also represents the number of alternations in the genetic makeup of popula‐ tions and species that take place under various evolutionary mechanisms. Evaluation of the genetic diversity and population structure of plant germplasm enhances breeding and man‐ agement practices to develop improved varieties. Various genetic tools have been success‐ fully used to study the genetic diversity of plant species, including morphological, cytological, biochemical, and molecular markers. This book discusses the fundamental ad‐ vances related to assessment, utilization, and conservation of genetic diversity in plant germplasm. The book also discusses approaches related to environmental stresses. More‐ over, it sheds new light on the current research trends and future research directions related to plant genetic diversity studies. This book will provoke the interest of various readers, re‐ searchers, and scientists, who will find this information useful for the advancement of their

The book includes six chapters. The first introductory chapter "Assessment and Conserva‐ tion of Genetic Diversity in Plant Species" presents an introduction to plant genetic diversity and the markers used in its characterization. The second chapter "Morphological, Biochemi‐ cal, and Molecular Characterization of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (*Ipomoea batatas* [L.] Lam) Germplasms" evaluates the genetic diversity of sweet potato germplasm based on dif‐ ferent morphological, biochemical, and molecular markers. The third chapter "Bean Ge‐ nome Diversity Reveals the Genomic Consequences of Speciation, Adaptation, and Domestication" reviews whether genomic islands of speciation are repeatedly more prone to harbor within-species differentiation due to genomic features, such as suppressed recombi‐ nation, smaller effective population size, and increased drift, across repeated hierarchically nested levels of divergence. The fourth chapter "Induced Mutation: Creating Genetic Diver‐ sity in Plants" discusses the approaches related to induced mutations and genetic diversity creation in plants. The fifth chapter "Water and Ecosystem Cycles Mediated by Plant Genet‐ ic Resources for Food and Agriculture" overviews the water and ecosystem cycles mediated by the ecosystem functions of naturally occurring plant communities and discusses possibil‐ ities for the transformation of agriculture into sustainable modality with primary impor‐ tance given to the recovery of water cycles. The sixth chapter "Genetic Variability of Mountain Pine (*Pinus hartwegii* Lindl) in the Protection of Flora and Fauna Area Nevado de Toluca" studies the genetic diversity of mountain pine under the attack of bark beetles and dwarf mistletoes, to generate information that could be used to improve strategies of conser‐

## Preface

 Genetic diversity isthe raw material thathelps plant speciesface a widerange of daily glob‐ al changes. It also represents the number of alternations in the genetic makeup of popula‐ tions and species that take place under various evolutionary mechanisms. Evaluation of the genetic diversity and population structureof plant germplasm enhances breedingand man‐ agement practices to develop improved varieties. Various genetic tools have been success‐ fully used to study the genetic diversity of plant species, including morphological, cytological, biochemical, and molecular markers. This book discusses the fundamental ad‐ vances related to assessment, utilization, and conservation of genetic diversity in plant germplasm. The book also discusses approaches related to environmental stresses. More‐ over, it sheds new light on the current research trends and future research directions related to plant genetic diversity studies. This book will provoke the interest of various readers, re‐ searchers, and scientists, who will find this information useful for the advancement of their plant genetic diversity research work.

 The book includes six chapters. The first introductory chapter "Assessment and Conserva‐ tion of Genetic Diversity in Plant Species" presents an introduction to plant genetic diversity and themarkers used in its characterization. The second chapter "Morphological, Biochemi‐ cal, and Molecular Characterization of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (*Ipomoea batatas* [L.] Lam) Germplasms" evaluates the genetic diversity of sweet potatogermplasm based on dif‐ ferent morphological, biochemical, and molecular markers. The third chapter "Bean Ge‐ nome Diversity Reveals the Genomic Consequences of Speciation, Adaptation, and Domestication" reviews whether genomic islands of speciation are repeatedly more prone to harbor within-species differentiation due to genomic features, such as suppressed recombi‐ nation, smaller effective population size, and increased drift, across repeated hierarchically nested levels of divergence. The fourth chapter "Induced Mutation: Creating Genetic Diver‐ sity in Plants" discusses the approaches related to induced mutations and genetic diversity creation in plants. The fifth chapter "Water and Ecosystem-Cycles Mediated by Plant Genet‐ ic Resources for Food and Agriculture" overviews the water and ecosystem cycles mediated bythe ecosystemfunctions of naturallyoccurring plant communities and discussespossibil‐ ities for the transformation of agriculture into sustainable modality with primary impor‐ tance given to the recovery of water cycles. The sixth chapter "Genetic Variability of Mountain Pine (*Pinus hartwegii* Lindl) in the Protection of Flora and Fauna Area Nevado de Toluca" studies the genetic diversity of mountain pine under the attack of bark beetles and dwarf mistletoes, togenerateinformation thatcouldbe used to improve strategiesof conser‐ vation of these forests.

#### XII Preface

 The book editor would like to thank Ms. Jasna Bozic, Author Service Manager, for her wholehearted cooperation in the publication of this book.

#### **Mohamed Ahmed El-Esawi, PhD**

Sainsbury Laboratory University of Cambridge Cambridge, United Kingdom

> Botany Department Faculty of Science Tanta University, Egypt
