Nicotiana

Abstract

Nicotiana is a relatively large genus that has been used widely in plant breeding and genetics research because of the economic importance of the cultivated species, N. tabacum L., and also because of the use of several species as model systems in plant biology. The objectives of this chapter are (1) to present information related to the evolution, taxonomy, and cytogenetics of cultivated tobacco and its wild relatives, (2) to discuss the conservation and utilization of genetic diversity within Nicotiana for improvement of the cultivated form, and (3) to review the use of Nicotiana species as platforms for experimentation in basic plant genetics research.