A comprehensive manual dealing with the molecular aspects of plant molecular biology, which is designed both as a teaching aid for advanced laboratory courses and as a guide for laboratory research. Subjects covered include the introduction of genes into plants, assays of gene activity, plant nucleic acid extraction and characterization procedures, and the use of selectable and screenable markers in transgenic plants. Special emphasis is placed on the use of Agrobacterium tumefaciens to introduce genes into plants, but other gene introduction techniques are also presented. Each chapter, written by experts in the field, includes a discussion of the background to each technique, detailed protocols, media and solution formulas, and an extensive bibliography.