Overview

The soybean is the most economically important of the legumes and the largest source of vegetable oil and protein on earth. Soybean oil has garnered considerable attention recently due to its growing use in biodiesel production. The extensive genetic resources of the soybean and the associated physiological tools available present a set of unique opportunities to study everything from seed development to the biology of polyploidization to a huge array of pathogenic and symbiotic plant-host interactions. This book covers recent advances in soybean genome research, including classical, RFLP, SSR, and SNP markers; genomic and cDNA libraries; functional genomics platforms; genetic and physical maps; and gene expression profiles. The book serves the needs of researchers and students in plant genetics and genomics, plant biology and pathology, agronomy, and food sciences.