This volume discusses techniques used for the molecular characterization of maize. This book is divided into 4 parts: cell, tissue, and organ culture and maize transformation; gene silencing and generation of mutant populations; plant gene expression; and plant metabolic networks. The chapters cover a range of topics, such as growing and propagating maize in the laboratory, greenhouse and field studies, screening mutagenic population, characterizing the genome, describing protein and metabolic regulatory networks, and generating transgenic plants for gene knock-out and over expression purposes. Written in the highly successful series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory prools, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and comprehensive, is a valuable resource for everyone who is interested in maize research.