American Society of Agronomy

Modification of seed composition to promote health and nutrition.

Fifteen chapters, presented by Krishnan (plant sciences, U. of Missouri in Columbia), describe information on the biotechnological improvement of agricultural seed composition that is "primarily aimed at improving the nutritional value of human food." Chapters discuss productivity and seed composition, nutritional value of tropical plant seeds, changing metabolic pathways to manipulate legume seed maturation and composition, engineering proteins for improved nutritional value, production of bioactive peptide in transgenic rice seed, engineering seeds for the production and delivery of oral vaccines, metabolic engineering of isoflavone biosynthesis in seeds, evaluation and development of low-phytate crops, engineering plants to produce polyunsaturated fatty acids, genetic manipulation of the brassicacceae for oils enriched in nervonic acid, engineering high lysine corn, sulfur assimilation and cysteine biosynthesis in soybean seeds, modification of sorghum seed composition to improve health and nutrition of small farmholders, and reducing peanut allergy risks by means of genetic modification. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)