ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the question of how molecular genetic-assisted manipulation of food crops can be expected to increase food production per se, how molecular breeding can help stabilize crop production by targeting resistance to pests and diseases and to environmental stress. It shows how nutritional and quality traits can be addressed genetically, and what kinds of crop improvement strategies can contribute to the sustainable utilization of biological resources on the planet. The chapter focuses on the networks of people that are needed if these efforts are to have a positive impact on global food supply. Molecular markers provide a strategy for isolating genes of interest, offering a toolbox of creative opportunities for optimizing productivity and environmental adaptation of agriculturally important species. Molecular mapping technology makes it possible to study the inheritance of quantitative resistance and to characterize individual genetic factors underlying the resistance.
