Editorial Book

Book Title: Handbook of Plant Breeding

PAID ACCESS | Published on : 06-Jul-2026 | Pages: 76-90 | Doi : 10.37446/edibook152024/76-90

Principles of Genetics and Plant Breeding

• Shilpa. L. S
• Research Scholar, PG & Research Department of Botany, Holy Cross College (Autonomous), Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Trichy-620002, Tamil Nadu, India


• Manonmani. R
• Assistant professor, PG & Research Department of Botany, Holy Cross College (Autonomous), Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Trichy-620002, Tamil Nadu, India.


• Haripriya. B
• Research Scholar, PG & Research Department of Botany, Holy Cross College (Autonomous), Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Trichy-620002, Tamil Nadu, India.


• Praveena Anitta. A
• Research Scholar, PG & Research Department of Botany, Holy Cross College (Autonomous), Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Trichy-620002, Tamil Nadu, India.

Abstract

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamental principles of genetics and their application in plant breeding. It explores the biological basis of heredity, the mechanisms of genetic variation and the scientific methods employed to improve crop species. Beginning with Mendelian genetics and progressing through modern biotechnological tools, the chapter examines how breeders harness genetic diversity to develop cultivars with superior yield, quality and resilience. Key concepts including gene expression, selection methods, hybridization, mutation breeding, and marker-assisted selection are discussed in the context of contemporary agricultural challenges. The chapter also addresses the future prospects of plant breeding in the face of climate change and growing global food demand.

Keywords

Genetics, plant breeding, Mendelian laws, genotype, phenotype, genetic variation, hybridization, selection

References

Acquaah, G. (2012) Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding. 2nd Edition, Wiley-Blackwell, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118313718

Allard, R. W. (1999). Principles of plant breeding (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.

Bateman, A. J. (1959). Induction of Polygenic Mutations in Rice. International Journal of Radiation Biology and Related Studies in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine, 1(4), 425–427. https://doi.org/10.1080/09553005914550551

Bradshaw, J. E. (2017). Plant breeding: Past, present, and future. Euphytica, 213(3):535-548

Broertjes, C., & van Harten, A. M. (Eds.). (1988). Applied mutation breeding for vegetatively propagated crops (Developments in Crop Science, Vol. 12). Elsevier, 1-345.

Ceccarelli, S., & Grando, S. (2007). Decentralized-participatory plant breeding: An example of demand driven research. Euphytica, 155(3), 349–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-006-9336-8

Chilton, M. D., Drummond, M. H., Merlo, D. J., Sciaky, D., Montoya, A. L., Gordon, M. P., & Nester, E. W. (1977). Stable incorporation of plasmid DNA into higher plant cells: The molecular basis of crown gall tumorigenesis. Cell, 11(2), 263–271. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-8674(77)90043-5

Collard, B. C. Y., & Mackill, D. J. (2008). Marker-assisted selection: An approach for precision plant breeding in the twenty-first century. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 363(1491), 557–572. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2007.2170

Doudna, J. A., & Charpentier, E. (2014). The new frontier of genome engineering with CRISPR-Cas9. Science, 346(6213), Article 1258096. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1258096

Duvick, D. N. (2005). The contribution of breeding to yield advances in maize (Zea mays L.). Advances in Agronomy, 86, 83–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2113(05)86002-X

Falconer, D. S., & Mackay, T. F. C. (1996). Introduction to quantitative genetics (4th ed.). Longman.

Fehr, W. R. (1987). Principles of cultivar development: Vol. 1. Theory and technique. Macmillan.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2009). International treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. FAO. https://www.fao.org/plant-treaty/en/

Germanà, M. A. (2011). Anther culture for haploid and doubled haploid production. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture, 104(3), 283–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-010-9852-z

Griffiths, A. J. F., Wessler, S. R., Carroll, S. B., & Doebley, J. (2015). Introduction to genetic analysis (11th ed.). W. H. Freeman.

Hallauer, A. R., Carena, M. J., & Miranda Filho, J. B. (2010). Quantitative genetics in maize breeding (3rd ed.). Springer.

Hartl, D. L., & Jones, E. W. (2009). Genetics: Analysis of genes and genomes (7th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Hill, W. G., & Mackay, T. (2004). D. S. Falconer and Introduction to Quantitative Genetics. Genetics, 167(4), 1529-1536.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Climate Change 2022 – Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: Working Group II Contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009325844

International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications. (2020). ISAAA brief 55: Global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops in 2019. ISAAA. https://www.isaaa.org

Kaul, M. L. H. (1988). Male sterility in higher plants. Springer-Verlag.

Levin, D. A. (2002). The role of chromosomal change in plant evolution. Oxford University Press.

Lobell, D. B., & Gourdji, S. M. (2012). The influence of climate change on global crop productivity. Plant Physiology, 160(4), 1686–1697. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.112.208298

Mayr, E. (1985). The growth of biological thought: Diversity, evolution, and inheritance. Harvard University Press.

Menczel, L., Galiba, G., Nagy, F., & Maliga, P. (1982). Effect of radiation dosage on efficiency of chloroplast transfer by protoplast fusion in Nicotiana. Genetics, 100(3), 487–495. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/100.3.487

Meuwissen, T. H., Hayes, B. J., & Goddard, M. E. (2001). Prediction of total genetic value using genome-wide dense marker maps. Genetics, 157(4), 1819–1829. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/157.4.1819

Pingali P. L. (2012). Green revolution: impacts, limits, and the path ahead. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(31), 12302–12308. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0912953109

Poehlman, J. M., & Sleper, D. A. (1995). Breeding field crops (4th ed.). Iowa State University Press.

Reynolds, M., & Ortiz, R. (2010). Adapting crops to climate change: A summary. In M. Reynolds (Ed.), Climate change and crop production (pp. 1–8). CABI.

Shilpa. L. S., Manonmani. R., Haripriya. B., Praveena Anitta. A. (2025). An in-depth review of Hygrophila auriculata (Schumach.) Heine. International journal of scientific research, 14(08), 41-43.

Stern, C., & Sherwood, E. R. (Eds.). (1966). The origin of genetics: A Mendel source book. W. H. Freeman.

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2019). World population prospects 2019: Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/423). United Nations.

Watson, A., Ghosh, S., Williams, M. J., Cuddy, W. S., Simmonds, J., Rey, M. D., Asyraf Md Hatta, M., Hinchliffe, A., Steed, A., Reynolds, D., Adamski, N. M., Breakspear, A., Korolev, A., Rayner, T., Dixon, L. E., Riaz, A., Martin, W., Ryan, M., Edwards, D., Batley, J., … Hickey, L. T. (2018). Speed breeding is a powerful tool to accelerate crop research and breeding. Nature plants, 4(1), 23–29. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-017-0083-8

Watson, J. D., Baker, T. A., Bell, S. P., Gann, A., Levine, M., & Losick, R. (2014). Molecular biology of the gene (7th ed.). Pearson.