Rabbits have many uses - as well as being cherished pets, they are bred for their meat and fur, and as laboratory animals. Understanding their genetics and genomics is key to their production and, equally, to their care, welfare and health. Beginning with an introduction to the rabbit, including key information on their evolution, domestication and breed types, this book then concentrates on the genetics and genomics of this valuable animal. This book covers: - Cytogenetics, genetic maps a...

Bringing together international expertise in rabbit production, topics covered in this fully updated volume include digestive physiology, feed formulation and product quality, as well as feeding strategies, feed processing, feed management around weaning and the relationship between nutrition and intestinal health. Brand new to this edition, the chapters also discuss the development of immune response and the role of intestinal microbiota, new dietary sources and additives, and feeding beh...

The concepts of veterinary genetics are crucial to understanding and controlling many diseases and disorders in animals. They are also crucial to enhancing animal production. Accessible and clearly presented, Introduction to Veterinary Genetics provides a succinct introduction to the aspects of genetics relevant to animal diseases and production. Now in its third edition, this is the only introductory level textbook on genetics that has been written specifically for veterinary and...

A single species of fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has been the subject of scientific research for more than one hundred years. Why does this tiny insect merit such intense scrutiny?Drosophila’s importance as a research organism began with its short life cycle, ability to reproduce in large numbers, and easy-to-see mutant phenotypes. Over time, laboratory investigation revealed surprising similarities between flies and other animals at the level of genes, gene netw...

Genetics and Evolution of Infectious Diseases is at the crossroads between two major scientific fields of the 21st century: evolutionary biology and infectious diseases. The genomic revolution has upset modern biology and has revolutionized our approach to ancient disciplines such as evolutionary studies. In particular, this revolution is profoundly changing our view on genetically driven human phenotypic diversity, and this is especially true in disease genetic susceptibility. Infectious ...

The fungi are a highly diverse kingdom of eukaryotic microbes. Recent advances in molecular genetics, together with the release of whole genome sequences of an increasing number of fungi, are facilitating their exploitation and commercialisation. Fungi have the ability to secrete large quantities of proteins of commercial value, and their complex secondary metabolic pathways produce a diverse range of bioactive compounds which have had a major impact in the pharmaceuticals market. In addit...

This series of volumes represents a comprehensive and integrated treatment of reproduction in vertebrates from fishes of all sorts through mammals. It is designed to provide a readable, coordinated description of reproductive basics in each group of vertebrates as well as an introduction to the latest trends in reproductive research and our understanding of reproductive events. Whereas each chapter and each volume is intended to stand alone as a review of that topic or vertebrate group, re...

This book contains the proceedings of the International Symposium on the Mechanisms of Sexual Reproduction in Animals and Plants, where many plant and animal reproductive biologists gathered to discuss their recent progress in investigating the shared mechanisms and factors involved in sexual reproduction. This now is the first book that reviews recent progress in almost all fields of plant and animal fertilization. It was recently reported that the self-sterile mechanism of a hermaphrodit...

The seminal text Plant Virology is now in its fifth edition. It has been 10 years since the publication of the fourth edition, during which there has been an explosion of conceptual and factual advances. The fifth edition of Plant Virology updates and revises many details of the previous edition while retaining the important earlier results that constitute the field's conceptual foundation. Revamped art, along with fully updated references and increased focus on molecular biology, transgen...

This book explains the ecology of viruses by examining their interactive dynamics with their hosting species (in this volume, in microbes and plants), including the types of transmission cycles that viruses have evolved encompassing principal and alternate hosts, vehicles, and vectoring species. Examining virology from an organismal biology approach and focusing on the concept that viral infections represent areas of overlap in the ecologies of the involved species, Viral Ecology ...

As the largest living group on earth, insects can provide us with insight into adaptation, evolution, and survival. The 2nd edition of this standard text for insect physiology courses and entomologists provides the most comprehensive analysis of the systems that make insects important contributors to our environment. Physiological Systems in Insects discusses the role of insect molecular biology, nueroendocrinology, biochemistry, and genetics in our understanding of insects. Organized acco...

Under continual attack from both microbial pathogens and multicellular parasites, insects must cope with immune challenges every day of their lives. However, this has not prevented them from becoming the most successful group of animals on the planet. Insects possess highly-developed innate immune systems which have been fine-tuned by an arms race with pathogens spanning hundreds of millions of years of evolutionary history. Recent discoveries are revealing both an unexpected degree of spe...