This book describes the history of tobacco genomics, from its "e;discovery"e; by Europeans to next-generation omics approaches in plant science. The authors primarily focus on the allotetraploid common tobacco plant (N. tabacum); however, separate chapters are dedicated to closely related Nicotiana species, such as N. benthamiana and N. attenuata, for which substantial progress in omics data analysis has been already achieved. While genetic maps, transcriptomes, and physical maps of BAC libraries have significantly enhanced our understanding of the tobacco plant, the genome of tobacco and related Nicotiana species has opened a new era in modern tobacco research. This book addresses current and future industrial and research applications as well as central challenges in tobacco science, including diseases, low variability of cultivars, the genome's large size, polyploidy, and gene duplication.

Background and History of Tobacco.- Biodiversity of tobacco.- Genetics of tobacco.- The genome and transcriptome of tobacco and its ancestors.- SGN Tobacco resources and Nicotiana metabolic databases.- Leaf curing: a key step for tobacco chemistry.- Repetitive DNA dynamics and polyploidization in the genus Nicotiana (Solanaceae).- Interspecific introgression in Nicotiana species.- Nicotine biosynthesis, transpssort, and regulation in tobacco: insights into the evolution of a metabolic pathway.