Plant genetics is a very broad term. There are many facets of
genetics in general, and of course there are many facets to
plants. The definition of genetics is the branch of
biology that deals with
heredity, especially the mechanisms of hereditary transmission and the variation of inherited characteristics among similar or related
organisms. And the definition of a plant is any of various
photosynthetic,
eukaryotic, multicellular
organisms of the kingdom
Plantae characteristically producing
embryos, containing
chloroplasts, having
cell walls which contain
cellulose, and lacking the power of
locomotion. Although there has been a revolution in the biological sciences in the past twenty years, there is still a great deal that remains to be discovered. The completion of the sequencing of the
genomes of
rice and some agriculturally and scientifically important plants (for example
Physcomitrella patens) has increased the possibilities of plant genetic research immeasurably.