APPLICATIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN TURFGRASS GENETIC-IMPROVEMENT

During the past two decades, substantial progress has been made in app lying modern biotechnology in turfgrass genetic improvement. Applicati ons of biotechnology have assisted turfgrass breeding programs in seve ral different ways. This review article addresses the advances made in turfgrass biotechnology, which are categorized in the following areas : (i) applications of molecular markers to assist breeding practice, ( ii) in vitro manipulations for regenerable tissue culture, (iii) genet ic engineering by DNA transfer techniques, and (iv) the use of fungal endophytes to improve turfgrass performance. Further achievements in t urfgrass biotechnology hold promise for solving problems that challeng e the turfgrass industry.