Genetics and Genomics of High-Altitude Crops

This edited book provides comprehensive coverage of the recent advances in genetics and genomics of high-altitude crops (HACs). This book also assists in understanding the genomic adaptation to the environmental extremes at high altitude conditions.

High-altitude crops are challenged by several high-altitude specific environmental stresses, i.e., extensive UV-B irradiation, extremely low temperature and intense hypoxia. These environmental constraints would be expected to cause genomic variations in HACs. Several studies have been conducted to dissect genetic and genomic regions in HACs to cope up with environmental stresses. However, these types of studies were not compiled or summarized anywhere.

This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, climate change scientists, capacity builders and policymakers. Also, the book serves as a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, crop biotechnology, and environmental sciences. Scientists and policymakers who are working on high-altitude crops will also find this to be a useful read.

Dr. Vijay Gahlaut currently holds the position of Assistant Professor at the University Centre for Research & Development, Chandigarh University, Mohali. His dedicated research is centered around the identification of novel genomic regions and genes responsible for the regulation of abiotic stress in crop plants. Dr. Gahlaut’s expertise spans across multiple domains, including crop biotechnology, quantitative genetics, QTL/GWAS (Quantitative Trait Loci/Genome-Wide Association Studies), and epigenetics. Utilizing a diverse array of bioinformatic and genomic methodologies, he has achieved remarkable success in pinpointing numerous critical genomic regions, epialleles, and candidate genes within various crop species. These findings hold significant importance as they contribute to enhancing the resilience of crops to challenging environmental conditions, particularly water scarcity and heat stress. Dr. Gahlaut’s impactful research efforts have resulted in the publication of over 50 research papers in esteemed international journals, in addition to several contributions in the form of book chapters. Furthermore, he actively contributes to the scientific community by serving as an Associate Editor and an independent peer reviewer for several renowned journals. Notably, his remarkable achievements have earned him the distinguished honor of being inducted as a Member of the National Academy of Sciences (NASI) in India, a recognition that underscores the significant impact of his work in the field of crop genetics and abiotic stress tolerance.

Dr. Vandana Jaiswal is currently working as a Scientist at CSIR-IHBT, Palampur, India. Her work focuses on unveiling the genetics of economically important traits, and the improvement of Himalayan crops through molecular approaches. Saffron is one of the most important Himalayan crops, which is triploid in nature, with no seed setting reported, and propagated exclusively through corms. Due to its sterile nature, genetic improvement of saffron is very challenging. She has initiated the application of molecular techniques for genetic improvement of saffron. She has published more than 40 research papers and book chapters. She also holds the responsibility of Associate Editor and independent peer reviewer for many journals. She is the recipient of various prestigious awards like the CSIR-Young Scientist Award, DST-INSPIRE Faculty Award, Early Career Research Award, and Women Scientist Awards from various Indian government agencies.