The ability to exploit the potential of wild relatives carrying beneficial traits is a major goal in breeding programs. However, it relies on the possibility of the chromosomes from the crop and wild species in interspecific crosses to recognize, associate, and undergo crossover formation during meiosis, the cellular process responsible for producing gametes with half the genetic content of their parent cells. Unfortunately, in most cases, a barrier exists preventing successful hybridization between the wild and crop chromosomes. Understanding the mechanisms controlling chromosome associations during meiosis are of great interest in plant breeding and will allow chromosome manipulation to introduce genetic variability from related species into a crop. In addition to interspecific hybrids, other materials, such as natural and synthetic polyploids and introgression lines derived from allopolyploids, among others, are powerful tools in the framework of plant breeding. For example, an extra pair of alien chromosomes in the full genome complement of a crop species has been frequently used as a first step to access genetic variation from the secondary gene pool in breeding programs. In addition, such introgression lines are also pivotal in the study of interspecific genetic interactions, in the chromosomal location of genetic markers, and in the study of chromosome structure and behavior in somatic and meiotic cells. Contained in this Special Issue are accounts of original research, including new tools to identify chromosome introgressions and the development and characterization of introgression lines and interspecific hybrids carrying desirable agronomic traits for plant breeding purposes. Also included are reviews about the chromosome engineering of tropical cash crops and the effect of chromosome structure on chromosome associations and recombination during meiosis to allow chromosome manipulation in the framework of plant breeding.

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Reproduction is an important central topic in biology. Reproduction genetics are at the heart of some of life’s most basic questions such as: where do we come from, what are we and where are we going? Reproduction genetics connects current generations with past and future ones, and is intimately connected with fertility and infertility. The cellular lineage instrumental in the passage of life is called the germline while the mature functional products are the gametes. These form the main theme of this book. This book bridges the gap between existing textbooks and society by describing the germline as a passage in time. This book includes high quality illustrations, a complete glossary and references for each chapter, with the most prominent research highlighted. The interactions between the science of reproduction genetics and society are addressed. The text also includes personal experiences of the author from a 40-year career in the field. The book aims to combine knowledge and insight for an audience with some knowledge of the intertwined sciences of genetics and reproduction. The ‘knowledge landscape’ has been organised into 19 chapters. The book is aimed at those dealing with these subjects professionally, in education and elsewhere. It also has a lot to offer the educated layman thanks to the excellent illustrations and up-to-date glossary of scientific terms.

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Understanding of the origin of species and their adaptability to new environments is one of the main questions in biology. This is fueled by the ongoing debate on species concepts and facilitated by the availability of an unprecedented large number of genomic resources. Genomes are organized into chromosomes, where significant variations in number and morphology are observed among species due to large-scale structural variants such as inversions, translocations, fusions, and fissions. This genomic reshuffling provides, in the long term, new chromosomal forms on which natural selection can act upon, contributing to the origin of biodiversity. This book contains mainly articles, reviews, and an opinion piece that explore numerous aspects of genome plasticity among taxa that will help in understanding the dynamics of genome composition, the evolutionary relationships between species and, in the long run, speciation.

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Plant reproduction is essential not only for producing offspring but also for increasing crop quality and yield. Moreover, plant reproduction entails complex growth and developmental processes, which provide a variety of opportunities for elucidating fundamental principles in biology. The combinational employment of molecular genetic approaches and emerging technologies, such as florescence-based imaging techniques and next generation sequencing, has led to important progresses in plant reproduction using model plants, crops, and trees. This e-book compiles 31 articles, including 1 hypothesis and theory, 4 perspectives, 12 reviews, and 14 original research papers. We hope that this E-book will draw attention of all plant biologists to exciting advances in the field of plant reproduction and help solve remaining challenging questions in the future. We wish to express our appreciation to all the authors, reviewers, and the Frontiers editorial office for their excellent contributions that made the publication of this e-book possible.

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Apomixis is the consequence of a concerted mechanism that harnesses the sexual machinery and coordinates developmental steps in the ovule to produce an asexual (clonal) seed. Altered sexual developments involve widely characterized functional and anatomical changes in meiosis, gametogenesis, and embryo and endosperm formation. The ovules of apomictic plants skip meiosis and form unreduced female gametophytes whose egg cells develop into a parthenogenetic embryo, and the central cells may or may not fuse to a sperm to develop the seed endosperm. Thus, functional apomixis involves at least three components, apomeiosis, parthenogenesis, and endosperm development, modified from sexual reproduction that must be coordinated at the molecular level to progress through the developmental steps and form a clonal seed. Despite recent progress uncovering specific genes related to apomixis-like phenotypes and the formation of clonal seeds, the molecular basis and regulatorynetwork of apomixis is still unknown. This is a central problem underlying the current limitations of apomixis breeding. This book collates twelve publications addressing different topics around the molecular basis of apomixis, illustrating recent discoveries and advances toward understanding the genetic regulation of the trait, discussing the possible origins of apomixis and the remaining challenges for its commercial deployment in plants.

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Plant physiology is influenced by a combination of internal and external factors that have led to remarkable diverse functions. Recent progress in understanding the proximate basis of plant physiology has revealed a myriad of underlying mechanisms, ranging from genomics and epigenomics to transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. This Special Issue called for review or research articles, short letters, and reports that provided novel insights into plant physiological mechanism research. It is centered around timely topics, including the molecular and physiological mechanisms of character improvement, responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, hormonal and environmental signaling, and postharvest. We welcomed research using cutting-edge technologies, such as genomics, ATAC-seq, and genome editing. We encouraged the publication of research papers with significant innovative technologies and creative ideas related to plant physiology. In addition, we invited experts in plant physiology to write up-to-date review articles that highlight recent advances and future perspectives.

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This Special Issue contains 12 articles evidencing the state of the art of research on the evolution and genetics of reptiles. One of the main lines of research concerns the advancements in phylogenetic studies based on the more recent molecular methods and the developments in whole genome sequencing. Among the papers, topics related to the analysis of genome composition with special reference to the presence and evolution of repetitive DNA and the control of gene activity are of interest. Examples of the different roles played by chromosome variability in various evolutionary models are reported. Some of the papers regard certain peculiarities of reptiles, such as meiotic mechanisms in parthenogenetic species and the transition between genetic and environmental sex determination. Besides studies on chromosomes and the nuclear genome, two papers also investigate mitochondrial genome evolution. Particularly promising for future studies is the potentiality gained by the results obtained so far from research into the evolution and genetics of reptiles that has also been used for an intriguing tentative motion to reconstruct dinosaurs’ karyotypes. The papers from this Special Issue highlight that reptiles are a good model for studying the genetic and molecular basis of certain key moments in vertebrate evolution.

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Reproduction and genetics are the central themes of biology. They relate to big questions of life such as: who are we, where do we come from, and where are we going? In the combined science of reproductive genetics, generations are interconnected and fertility plays a significant role. The cell lineage responsible for this is known as the germline, with gametes as the functional products and heralds of information. The book follows the germline and attempts, through a more liberal and narrative use of language, to bridge the gap between an academic textbook and society. Personal experiences are not shunned but do not dominate. The book is intended for those professionally involved in or entering this field, including those in education and journalism. However, it is also suitable for enthusiasts without a professional background, partly thanks to its beautiful colour illustrations and an up-to-date glossary.

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