Sustainable Agriculture and New Biotechnologies

Focusing on the use of new biotechnologies to create more sustainable agriculture within the framework of global environmental changes, this book is the first reference to highlight related developments in molecular biology and genetic engineering. It discusses new emerging technologies such as metabolomics, metagenomics, nutrigenomics, and more recently ionomics and their translation to agricultural research and productive technologies. An international team of experts from 16 countries presents concrete examples of the use of omics technologies in food production systems and their application to soil-plant-environment interactions.

Taking a broad and innovative informational approach, Sustainable Agriculture and New Biotechnologies is the first book to apply omic technologies to address issues related to understanding and improving agricultural sustainability in the food production process. The transformation from industrial to sustainable agriculture is discussed within the frameworks of new biotechnologies and global environmental changes. While considering this transformation, the book covers:

• The use of new biotechnologies to help in the creation of more sustainable agricultural practices, including methods in molecular biology, genetic engineering, and the new emerging technologies, such as metabolomics, metagenomics, nutrigenomics, and ionomics



• The path to reach the goal of the global sustainable agricultural and food production systems in a world of limited natural resources and growing environmental degradation



• Principles that regulate the new agricultural and food production systems including breeding programs for more sustainable crops, soil management, and environment preservation

It is clear that biotechnological approaches will become increasingly important in the future and that a shift from industrial to a sustainable agriculture will be necessary. While many books tend to make "a quick and easy link" between these two different worlds, Sustainable Agriculture and New Biotechnologies describes exactly how omics can contribute to greater food productivity and security, and agricultural sustainability in the future.