Transgenic Plants: Advances and Limitations

Transgenic plants are the ones, whose DNA is modified using genetic engineering techniques. The aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species. A transgenic plant contains a gene or genes that have been artificially inserted. The inserted gene sequence is known as the transgene, it may come from an unrelated plant or from a completely different species. The purpose of inserting a combination of genes in a plant, is to make it as useful and productive as possible. Development of efficient transformation protocols is becoming a complementary strategy to conventional breeding techniques for the improvement of crops. Transgenic Plants: Advances and Limitations covers the recent advances carried on improvement of transformation methods together with assessment of the impact of genetically transformed crops on biosafety.