Éderson Akio Kido, José Ribamar Costa Ferreira Neto, Roberta Lane de Oliveira Silva, Paulo Paes de Andrade and Ana Maria Benko-Iseppon
Federal University of Pernambuco, Center of Biological Sciences, Department of Genetics, PE, Brazil

Series: Genetics – Research and Issues, Agriculture Issues and Policies
BISAC: MED107000

Among abiotic stresses, drought and salinity figure as the most limiting abiotic factors for crop production, restricting useful areas for agriculture and yield under adverse conditions. Different approaches have shown that both stress types are intimately related, recruiting similar genes, especially in the initial steps after stress perception. Especially in face to possible climatic changes, the development of tolerant plants is fundamental for the maintenance and increase of crop yields. As the most important plant source for sugar and alcohol production, sugarcane presents strategic value, being cultivated in more than 80 countries (tropical and subtropical areas), besides its importance as the most promising renewable biofuel source.

The present book regards an update of the author’s previous contribution (Kido et al., 2012a) entitled “Tolerance against Abiotic Stresses in Sugarcane – Can Gene Discovery and Biotechnology Improve the Yield?”, bringing an overview of the differentially expressed genes in sugarcane under salinity, as revealed by the SuperSAGE approach, with a review of the existing protected genes for this purpose. In the present work a deeper discussion on the application and potential of SuperSAGE method for the recognition of genes associated to abiotic stress in plants is available, in the light of the most patented genes, emphasizing the potential of the technique for the discovery of new candidates for biotechnological purposes. (Imprint: Nova Biomedical)