This book celebrates the dawn of the rye genomics era with concise, comprehensive, and accessible reviews on the current state of rye genomic research, written by experts in the field for students, researchers and growers. 

To most, rye is the key ingredient in a flavoursome bread or their favourite American whisky. To a farmer, rye is the remarkable grain that tolerates the harshest winters and the most unforgiving soils, befitting its legacy as the life-giving seed that fed the ancient civilisations of northern Eurasia.

Since the mid-1900s, scientists have employed genetic approaches to better understand and utilize rye, but only since the technological advances of the mid-2010s has the possibility of addressing questions using rye genome assemblies become a reality. Alongside the secret of its unique survival abilities, rye genomics has accelerated research on a host of intriguing topics such as the complex history of rye’s domestication by humans, the natureof genes that switch fertility on and off, the function and origin of accessory chromosomes, and the evolution of selfish DNA.

Chapter 1. Economic and Academic Importance of Rye.- Chapter 2. Hybrid Rye Breeding.- Chapter 3. Rye Cytogenetics and Chromosome Genomics.- Chapter 4. The B Chromosome of Rye.- Chapter 5. Dissection of the Rye Genome by the Gametocidal System.- Chapter 6. Evolution and Domestication of Rye.- Chapter 7. Assembling the Rye Genome.- Chapter 8. The Gene and Repetitive Element Landscape of the Rye Genome.- Chapter 9. Bridging the Genotype-Phenotype Gap for Precision Breeding in Rye.- Chapter 10. Genomics of Self-Incompatibility and Male-Fertility Restoration in Rye.- Chapter 11. Genetics and Genomics of Stress Tolerance.