Paramutation in maize.- Genomic imprinting in plants: observations and evolutionary implications.- Nucleolar dominance: uniparental gene silencing on a multi-megabase scale in genetic hybrids.- Epigenetic aspects of somaclonal variation in plants.- Plant DNA methyltransferases.- RNA-directed DNA methylation.- Transcriptional transgene silencing and chromatin components.- Transcriptional gene silencing mutants.- Role of inverted DNA repeats in transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene silencing.- RNA degradation and models for post-transcriptional gene silencing.- Post-transcriptional gene silencing mutants.- Systemic silencing signal(s).- RNA viruses as inducers, suppressors and targets of post-transcriptional gene silencing.- Plant DNA viruses and gene silencing.- Transgene silencing in monocots.- Plants as bioreactors for protein production: avoiding the problem of transgene silencing.- Use of matrix attachment regions (MARs) to minimize transgene silencing.- Gene silencing in potato: allelic differences and effect of ploidy.- Genetic and epigenetic interactions in allopolyploid plants.- Transgenic silencing by the host genome defense: implications for the evolution of epigenetic control mechanisms in plants and vertebrates.

This book is an up-to-date and comprehensive collection of reviews on various aspects of epigenetic gene silencing in plants. Research on this topic has undergone explosive growth during the past decade and has revealed novel features of gene regulation and plant defense responses that also apply to animals and fungi. Gene silencing is relevant for agricultural biotechnology because stable expression of transgenes is required for the successful commercialization of genetically engineered crops. The reviews have been written by distinguished authors who have made significant contributions to plant gene silencing research. This volume supersedes other books on gene silencing by focussing on plant systems, where many pioneering experiments have been performed, and by including the latest developments from top laboratories. The book is geared toward advanced students of genetics and plant sciences as well as applied and basic research scientists who work with transgenic organisms and epigenetic regulation of gene expression.