Book excerpt: In the Dictionary of Plant Genetics and Molecular Biology, more than 3,500 technical terms from the fields of plant genetics and molecular biology are defined for students, teachers, and researchers in universities, institutes, and agricultural research stations. An excellent educational tool that will save you time and effort, this dictionary brings together into a single source the meaning and origin of terms from the fields of classical genetics, molecular genetics, mutagenesis, population genetics, statistics, plant biotechnology, evolutionary genetics, plant breeding, and plant biotechnology. Finding and understanding the precise meaning of many terms in genetics is crucial to understanding the foundation of the subject matter. For reasons of space, the glossaries provided at the end of most textbooks are highly inadequate. There is, then, dire need for a dictionary of terms in a single volume. You?ll appreciate the helpful approaches and features of Dictionary of Plant Genetics and Molecular Biology, including: no terms that are of limited use, very general, or self-explanatory cross references for effective access to the materials and economy of space alternate names of terms, denoted with “Also referred to as . . .” or “Also known as . . .” multiple definitions for terms defined by different authors or for terms with different meanings in different contexts authors who coined, described, or contributed toward further understanding of a term are listed and respective publications are included in the Bibliography At last, there is compiled in a single volume the technical terms you need to know in order to understand plant genetics and molecular biology. As your knowledge grows, you?ll uncover even more terms that you need to understand. You?ll find yourself turning to this handy guide time and time again for help on all levels.