In August. 1982. a conference was held at the University of Califor-
nia. Davis. to discuss both molecular and traditional approaches to
plant genetic analysis and plant breeding. Papers presented at the
meeting were published in Genetic Engineering of Plants: An Agricultural
Perspective. A second conference. entitled "Tailoring Genes for Crop
Improvement." spon- sored by the UC-Davis College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences and the College's Biotechnology Program. was held
at Davis in August. 1986. to discuss the notable advances that had been
made during the intervening years in the technology for gene
modification. transfer. and expression in plants. This volume contains
papers that were presented at this meeting and provides readers with
examples of how the new experimental strategies are being used to gain a
clearer understanding of the biology of the plants we grow for food and
fiber; it also discusses how molecular biology approaches are being used
to introduce new genes into plants for plant breeding programs. We are
grateful to the speakers for their excellent presentations for the
conference and extend our sincere thanks to those who contributed
manuscripts for this volume.