This clear and well-structured book, comprising papers presented at the 8th International Workshop on Seeds (Brisbane 2005), represents a comprehensive treatment of seed science. Contributors are a mix of leaders in their fields and younger scientists engaged in groundbreaking work. The book is subdivided into six sections and contains scene-setting reviews and detailed focused scientific papers.
The growing reliance on ‘-omics’ technologies in for example, the study of seed development and quality, is self-evident throughout. These range from microarrays, to monitor the expression of stress-inducible genes, through to the combination of proteomics and transcriptomics, to study germination and vigour. Sixty percent of the papers describe new technology deployment that brings an extra dimension to seed science research. It is obvious that rapid development and application of existing and emerging methodologies will lead to significant advancements over the next few years.
The introduction to seed biotechnology was well made, giving a good account of where we are currently, in terms of the growing use of herbicide and insect resistance traits into crops and the likelihood of the future introduction of seed quality traits, such as improving protein, oil, and starch content. However, in the case of the latter, the financial rewards for the developer are not so great so progress is likely to be slow.
The diversity of approaches on show and the clever use of emerging technologies all contributed towards making this book a valuable addition to the library of many students and researchers in the fields of seed science.
