New book on tomato breeding features WVSU scientist

2/22/2013

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Contact: Dr. Orlando F. McMeans
(304) 204-4300
mcmeanso@wvstateu.edu  
New book on tomato breeding features WVSU scientist
 
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Dr. Barbara E. Liedl, an associate research professor and scientist at West Virginia State University, is an editor for the newly published book Genetics, Genomics and Breeding of Tomato.

Compiling work by a variety of authors, the book covers information on genomics and breeding of tomatoes, as well as the history of traditional breeding and processing – a topic which, according to Liedl, has never been covered.

Tomato is the second most economically important vegetable in the world, she said. Production has continued to expand the fruit as a good source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants for human nutrition and health. In the last 20 years, researchers have applied the advances in the fields of genetics and genomics, creating an explosion in knowledge on the crop, as well as elevating the tomato to a model species and revolutionizing breeding.

 “Our editorial team was very excited to be able to work with this group of authors and are thrilled about the finished product,” said Liedl. The book will prove a useful resource for researchers interested in using the tomato as a model species, as well as those working with similar crops, she said.

Liedl was invited to serve as an editor on the project because of career-spanning research on breeding and the genetics of tomato reproductive barriers and resistance to pests and diseases. Other editors on the project included representatives from the USDA and Clemson University in South Carolina.

The book was released in January from Science Publishers, an imprint of CRC Press. It is available for purchase through CRC Press’s website at www.crcpress.com.
 
West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi‐generational institution, located in Institute, WV. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.