Epigenetics for Climate-Smart and Sustainable Agriculture

by Jen-Tsung Chen (Editor), Bhargavi H. A (Contribution by), Naveen Aavula (Contribution by), Thiruvengadam Abarna (Contribution by), Naglaa A. Abdallah (Contribution by)

Overview

This book provides a state-of-the-art overview of current achievements and future possibilities for the application of epigenetic and epigenomic techniques to the improvement of crops. Creating crops more resilient to the stresses caused by climate change will be an important part of a climate-smart and sustainable agriculture strategy for the future. All critical environmental stressors are explored: temperature, salt, drought, pollutants, pests, fungi, bacteria, and viruses. The exciting possibilities for the integration of epigenetic resources and technologies with plant functional genomics and the new field of precision molecular breeding in crops are discussed. Examples are shown of crops showing better growth performance, enhanced yields, more efficient nutrient utilization, and higher quality food production. The book reviews all aspects of epigenetics, epigenomics, and emerging RNA technologies and presents fundamental and advanced tools, showing their current applications in plant sciences, plant functional genomics, plant stress physiology, plant biotechnology, plant pathology, and plant breeding. The ethical, moral, and societal issues raised by these new plant breeding technologies are also discussed and future challenges are debated. This book is an ideal complete guide for students, researchers, experts, and professionals to overview this critical topic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781800626102
Publisher:	CAB International North America
Publication date:	07/29/2025
Series:	CABI Climate Change Series , #26
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	584
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Dr. Jen-Tsung Chen is a professor of cell biology at the National University of Kaohsiung in Taiwan. He also teaches genomics, proteomics, plant physiology, and plant biotechnology. Dr. Chen's research interests include bioactive compounds, chromatography techniques, plant molecular biology, plant biotechnology, bioinformatics, and systems pharmacology. He is an active editor of academic books and journals to advance the exploration of multidisciplinary knowledge involving plant physiology, plant biotechnology, nanotechnology, ethnopharmacology, and systems biology.
Dr. Amine Assouguem is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Ecole Nationale d'Agriculture de Meknès, specializing in Plant Science and Entomology. He earned his PhD in Plant Protection from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, in 2023. Dr. Assouguem has authored and co-authored 80 papers on plant science and plant protection, with a focus on abiotic and biotic factors affecting various crops, including citrus trees. As a postdoctoral scientist, Dr. Assouguem has supervised several students in Plant Physiology and Pathology, contributing to their research and academic development.
Dr. Zineb Belabess is a research scientist at INR-Morocco, specializing in plant virology and entomology. She obtained her State Engineering degree from ENA in 2011. She earned her PhD in virology from Moulay Ismail University in 2017 in collaboration with ENA of Meknes and CIRAD of Montpellier. Her research focuses on two sectors, Citrus, and Vegetable Farming, aiming for a better understanding of the prevalence and genetic diversity of plant viruses in Morocco to mitigate their impact. Her objectives are to ensure competitive and sustainable agriculture in line with the strategic orientations of national agricultural development policies. Her current research projects: (i) Prevention and control of geminiviruses infecting vegetable crops in the Mediterranean basin: GeMed project of the PRIMA (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area) initiative. Principal investigator, and coordinator of a work package on diagnostics; (ii) Detection and molecular characterization of viruses associated with citrus in the Berkane region: Medium-Term Research Project (PRMT) of INRA. Recipient of a grant from the International Foundation for Science to study potato viruses in the Northeast of Morocco. Dr. Belabess has authored and co-authored 45 papers in plant pathology and plant protection, focusing on viruses affecting citrus and tomato plants. She has also supervised several students in plant pathology, collaborating with ENA-Meknes.
Dr. Rachid Lahlali is a Research Professor of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at the Ecole Nationale d'Agriculture de Meknes (ENA-Meknes, Morocco) since 2016. He earned his BSc in Plant Protection from ENA-Meknes, and his MSc and PhD in Agronomy and Biological Sciences with a focus on Plant Pathology from Gembloux Agro-Bio-Tech, University of Liege (Belgium) in 2006. Dr. Lahlali previously worked as a Research Scientist at the University of Saskatchewan (Canadian Light Source Inc.) from 2013 to 2016 and held postdoctoral positions at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon Research Centre (2009-2013), the Plant Research Institute, University of Montreal (2007-2009), and Gembloux Agro Bio-Tech, University of Liege (2006-2007). His research interests include plant-microbe interactions, biological control of plant diseases, molecular plant pathology, and plant responses to biotic stresses. Dr. Lahlali has authored over 196 peer-reviewed papers and 15 book chapters, supervised over 35 Master's and 15 Doctoral students, and participated in numerous national and international projects. He is an editor for several journals and a reviewer for many others. At ENA-Meknes, he teaches courses in Plant Pathology, Phyto-epidemiology, and Phyto-mycology, among others. In 2023, Dr. Lahlali was recognized as the World's Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University.
Dr. Michael Baum holds a PhD in Biotechnology and works as Deputy Director General Research, ICARDA, Rabat, Morocco. His contribution as the team leader breeding and scaling of climate-smart varieties coordinates ICARDA's mandate within CGIAR, to improve barley, lentil, faba bean and grasspea at a global level, and kabuli chickpea with ICRISAT, and durum and bread wheat with CIMMYT regionally. He has proven his skills in resource mobilization and helped to identify and attract over US$ 10 million in funding to build the facilities, develop ICARDA's biotechnology program, and strengthen biotech research across the region.
Professor Pingwu Liu is based at the College of Forestry and Tropical Agriculture in Hainan University, Haiku, China.
Dr Muhammad Waseem is an Associate Professor at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, China. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Botany at the Department of Botany, University of Narowal, Pakistan. He received his Ph.D. in plant molecular biology from Chongqing University, PR China. His research interests include transcriptional regulation of flowering time regulation, fruit ripening and development, and abiotic stresses such as salinity and drought. In addition, he has hands-on experience in next-generation sequencing data analysis, transcriptomics, and data visualization.