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This book offers a thorough examination of how drought stress impacts various facets of a plant's physiology, ecology, and agricultural systems. It delves into the challenges posed by drought stress, a critical issue exacerbated by climate change and its impact on water availability. By employing a multidisciplinary methodology, the book endeavours to furnish a thorough comprehension of the intricate interplay between plants and their surroundings when faced with water scarcity. It proves to be an invaluable asset for scholars, students, policymakers, and experts who are keen on comprehending the intricate array of issues that drought stress poses. Moreover, it serves as a repository of effective strategies to tackle the consequences of drought stress in a world undergoing transformation. The book's multidisciplinary orientation guarantees a comprehensive exploration of the subject, encompassing the physiological, agricultural, and molecular reactions of plants.

Plant Stress Tolerance: Molecular Mechanisms and Breeding Strategies, Volume One provides effective ways for organizing precision and sustainable agriculture. The methods include the use of advanced molecular techniques covering multiple omics, high-throughput technology, computational biology, epigenetic manipulation, and CRISPR genome editing. These methods can advance the development of high-yield, high-quality, and stress-resilient crops that meet the requirements for supporting global food and nutrition security.The book proposes strategies for omics-assisted and speed breeding techniques, exploring molecular mechanisms of plant abiotic stress caused by temperature, drought, salinity, and various pollutants. These are uncovered by quantitative trait loci analysis and mapping, genomic selection, functional genomics, multiple omics, high-throughput sequencing, and high-throughput phenotyping, and are integrated into the various systems of crop improvement.Plant Stress Tolerance: Molecular Mechanisms and Breeding Strategies, Volume One presents emerging and comprehensive knowledge and is an ideal reference for students, researchers, teachers, and professors. It inspires ideas for investigations in the fields of plant stress physiology, plant functional genomics, plant multiple omics, plant genetic engineering, systems biology, and crop breeding.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is recognized as a crucial signaling molecule that mediates physiological and biochemical processes in plants, regulating various development and stress responses. Hydrogen Peroxide: Signalling Mechanisms and Crosstalk in Plant Development and Stress Responses presents a comprehensive overview of hydrogen peroxide's modes of action in plants demonstrating the important role played in plant stress signaling and communication. It introduces key topics in H2O2 research such as plant signaling, molecular responses, and interaction with other hormones.Features Discusses experiments interrelated to H2O2 signaling pathway in plants under various environmental conditions Addresses important concerns in H2O2 research from a wide range of organisms, including plants and prokaryotes such as bacteria and archaea Collects, summarizes, and presents developments in plant signaling and communication Aids scientists and breeders in developing strategies to enhance plant growth and stress tolerance Environmental stress is destructively disturbing plant growth and efficiency resulting in concerns to improve food crop yield, and H2O2 has immense field implications as it is vital in regulating plant growth and stress responses. Hydrogen Peroxide: Signalling Mechanisms and Crosstalk in Plant Development and Stress Responses is an invaluable resource for researchers and scientists to use as a guide to conduct studies on environmental conditions of the plant hydrogen peroxide signaling systems.

This edited book deals with the distribution, classification and diversity of halophytic ecosystems, ecology of mangroves, coastal agroforestry, adaptations and mechanisms of salt tolerance in glycophytes verses halophytes, scope of biosaline agriculture, and potential utilization of halophytes in abiotic stressed environments in arid and semiarid regions and coastal areas. In this era of global population increase and global environmental change, there is need to provide food to the ever-growing population, combating climate change and conserving biodiversity. Keeping in view the rich biodiversity of halophytes, there is wide scope in food industry, phytoremediation, as well as a source of bioactive compounds including modern drugs. The new technologies for the cultivation of halophytes help to utilize saline and arid wastelands and also waterlogged areas sustainably for humans and the livestock. This book creates interest in educationists, researchers, industrialists, investors, soil and climate change scientists, development/extension workers, environmentalists, policy/decision makers, and government and non-government organizations. Also, the book serves as reference material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, ecology, soil science, and environmental sciences. National and international soil and agricultural scientists, ecologists, policy makers will also find this book immensely useful.

The Fourth Edition of the Handbook of Photosynthesis offers a unique and comprehensive collection of topics in the field of photosynthesis, serving as an invaluable resource in this field. With contributions from 95 scientists and experts from over 20 countries, this volume has been divided into 13 parts, each serving independently to facilitate the understanding of the material.FEATURES Presents comprehensive information on photosynthesis under normal and environmental stress conditions Covers artificial photosynthesis and its future-related issues Contains 25 new chapters and 18 extensively revised and expanded chapters Includes three new sections: Influence of Nanoparticles on Photosynthesis; Protection of Photosynthesis System and Stress Alleviation Strategies by Photosynthates Manipulations and Photosynthesis Efficiency in Plants under Multiple Abiotic and Biotic Stressors; and Artificial Photosynthesis and Its Future Contains numerous tables, figures, illustrations, and case studies to facilitate the comprehension of the material as well as thousands of index words A primary resource in its field, Handbook of Photosynthesis, Fourth Edition, provides a comprehensive resource for researchers, academics, and for university courses, with the information as a valuable source to plan, implement, and evaluate strategies for dealing with photosynthesis issues.

This comprehensive exploration delves into the pivotal role of bacteria in soil health, elucidating their mechanisms in organic matter decomposition, metal facilitation, bioremediation of stubborn materials, and nutrient cycling essential for soil fertilization, plant health and conditioning. In an agricultural ecosystem, soil nutrients are the backbone, sourced either externally through fertilizers or internally by the action of soil bacteria. Understanding the intricate concert of soil bacteria within the ecological framework offers three significant advantages: revitalizing soil health and quality (soil reclamation), enhancing soil nutrient availability (biofertilization), and amplifying crop yields in an environmentally sustainable manner (sustainable agriculture). This book caters to a diverse audience including educators, researchers, technocrats, policymakers, agricultural foundations, non-governmental organizations, and particularly research students. It also serves as supplementary material for undergraduate and graduate students across various disciplines such as agriculture, microbiology, biotechnology, forestry, ecology, soil science, and environmental sciences. Additionally, it provides invaluable insights for both national and international agricultural scientists and soil ecologists, enriching their understanding of soil ecosystems and agricultural sustainability.

This book uncovers the basic principles of microbial photosynthesis and the latest technological interventions of this crucial phenomenon. In the recent past, the basic principles of microbial photosynthesis were technologically articulated to engineer several cell factories that can utilize waste resources and generate different groups of industrially valuable products. Also, the list of model organisms for specific usage have been increasing enormously. This volume covers the material in four sections; each of the part dealing with the basic principles of microbial photosynthesis in an applied orientation focusing on waste valorization and circular bioeconomy. Furthermore, the following chapters deal with the very recent advancements in metabolic engineering and artificial photosynthesis with respect to value addition. Not only will this book be available for graduate and postgraduate students in microbiology, biotechnology, plant sciences, environmental sciences, energy engineering, and renewable energy, it is also an excellent material for researchers needing a multidisciplinary approach.

This textbook is second edition of popular textbook of plant physiology and metabolism. The first edition of this book gained noteworthy acceptance (more than 4.9 Million downloads) among graduate and masters level students and faculty world over, with many Universities recommending it as a preferred reading in their syllabi. The second edition provides up to date and latest information on all the topics covered while also including the basic concepts. The text is supported with clear, easy to understand Figures, Tables, Box items, summaries, perspectives, thought-provoking multiple-choice questions, latest references for further reading, glossary and a detailed subject index. Authors have also added a number of key concepts, discoveries in the form of boxed- items in each chapter. Plant physiology deals with understanding the various processes, functioning, growth, development and survival of plants in normal and stressful conditions. The studyinvolves analysis of the above-stated processes at molecular, sub-cellular, cellular, tissue and plant level in relation with its surrounding environment. Plant physiology is an experimental science, and its concepts are very rapidly changing through applications from chemical biology, cytochemical, fluorometric, biochemical and molecular techniques, and metabolomic and proteomic analysis. Consequently, this branch of modern plant biology has experienced significant generation of new information in most areas. The newer concepts so derived are being also rapidly put into applications in crop physiology. Novel molecules, such nanourea, nitric oxide, gaseous signalling molecules like hydrogen sulphide, are rapidly finding significant applications among crop plants. This textbook, therefore, brings forth an inclusive coverage of the field contained in 35 chapters, divided into five major units. It serves as essential reading material for post-graduate and undergraduate students of botany, plant sciences, plant physiology, agriculture, forestry, ecology, soil science, and environmental sciences. This textbook is also of interest to teachers, researchers, scientists, and policymakers.

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of microalgal cultivation methods and optimization of astaxanthin production for various applications, including clinical uses, algae polymers, proteins and pigments, food applications and packaging, algae forming, cosmetics, and more. Microalgae are unicellular living forms and are the primary producers that play a major role in the ecosystem. Commercially, while many documents are available, some recent fields are yet to be explored. The book comprises 19 chapters contributed by experts and reviews the recent developments in the cultivation, harvest, and genetic engineering of H. pluvialis-derived astaxanthin. It also discusses their bottlenecks and challenges in commercial-scale production, as well as current and prospective global market. Current research supports the exploration of new topics and practical applications of microalgae and their products, which will also benefit academia. The book will be an importantresource for researchers and industry, providing comprehensive knowledge on broad topics. Flow charts, updated methods, and colour images are included to help the readers'understanding.

It is widely recognised that photosynthesis in many important crops is well below its theoretical potential. With crop yields and stability under threat from the impact of climate change, there is now an urgent need to synthesise existing research on best practices for improving C3 photosynthesis in crops to optimise sustainable crop production and yields. Understanding and improving crop photosynthesis reviews the wealth of current research that addresses this challenge. This collection summarises our understanding of the general components of C3 photosynthesis, including its biophysics, biochemistry and genetics, as well as advances in techniques for improving photosynthesis, focussing primarily on light harvesting and optimising chloroplast function/light conversion.

This book is a comprehensive collection of information on the role of plant phenolics in stress management in plants. The main focus of this book is to address the abiotic stress management in plants by plant phenolics under varied environments. Plant metabolic networks contribute significantly to the plasticity of plant metabolism, which is required to afford the sessile lifestyle of a land plant under changing environmental conditions. In natural systems, plants face a plethora of antagonists and thus possess a myriad of defenses and have evolved multiple defense mechanisms by which they can cope with various kinds of stresses for adaptation. Plant phenolics being ubiquitous have been extracted from every plant part such as roots, stem, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds and thus plays important role in adapting the plants to the varied environment. The book will provide readers with an up-to-date review of this dynamic field and sets the direction for future research. This book is of interest and use to a diverse range of topics of regulation of abiotic stress in plants. Bringing together work from leading international researchers, it is also a valuable reading material for plant and agricultural scientists, academics, researchers, students, and teachers wanting to gain insights into the role of plant phenolics in stress management in plants for sustainable agriculture.

The Role of Gasotransmitters In the Amelioration of Arsenic Toxicity in Plants: Biology and Biotechnology, in the Plant Gasotransmitter series, provides research on how gasotransmitters can reduce the stress faced by plants through arsenic contamination. With a strong focus on metabolic processes, the book presents the various pathways and mechanisms associated with gasotransmitters as part of arsenic amelioration. Initial chapters discuss the effects of arsenic on the plant genome and metabolome, as well as the mechanisms behind the uptake and translocation of arsenic in plants. The book then takes a deep dive into the role of gasotransmitters, highlighting plant physiological responses. This is an essential resource for students, researchers and agronomists interested in plant physiology, biochemistry and plant hormones. - Explains the physiological, biochemical and molecular aspects of how gasotransmitters can mitigate stress by arsenic in plants - Presents how arsenic is found in the environment, along with associated problems with arsenic contamination - Highlights the impact of food processing on minimizing arsenic and other potentially toxic elements in edible plants

Biotechnology and Crop ImprovementThe green revolution led to the development of improved varieties of crops, especially cereals, and since then, classical or molecular breeding has resulted in the creation of economically valuable species. Thanks to recent developments in biotechnology, it has become possible to introduce genes from different sources, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, mice and humans, to plants. This technology has made the scientific community aware of the critical role of transgenic, not only as a means of producing stress tolerant crops but also as a platform for the production of therapeutics through molecular farming. Biotechnology and Crop Improvement: Tissue Culture and Transgenic Approaches focuses on important field crops to highlight germplasm enhancement for developing resistance to newly emerging diseases, pests, nutrient- and water-use efficiency, root traits and improved tolerance to increasing temperature and introduces significant recent achievements in crop improvement using methods such as micropropagation, somaclonal variation, somatic embryogenesis, anther/pollen/embryo culture, and compressing the breeding cycle for accelerated breeding and early release of crop varieties. Plant biotechnology has now become an integral part of tissue culture research. The tremendous impact generated by genetic engineering and consequently of transgenic now allows us to manipulate plant genomes at will. There has indeed been a rapid development in this area with major successes in both developed and developing countries. Development of transgenic crop plants, their utilization for improved agriculture, health, ecology and environment and their socio-political impacts are currently important fields in education, research, and industry and also of interest to policy makers, social activists and regulatory and funding agencies. This work prepared with a class-room approach on this multidisciplinary subject will fill an existing gap and meet the requirements of such a broad section of readers. It describes the recent biotechnological advancement and developments in plant tissue culture and transgenic. Plant tissue culture techniques such as such as micropropagation, regeneration, somaclonal variation, somatic embryogenesis, anther/pollen/embryo culture are discussed for genetic improvement of crop plant. Transgenic techniques are discussed for developing resistance to newly emerging diseases, pests, nutrient- and water-use efficiency, root traits, and improved tolerance to increasing temperature.Key Features Shows the importance of plant tissue culture and transgenic technology on plant biology research and its application to agricultural production Provides insight into what may lie ahead in this rapidly expanding area of plant research and development Contains contributions from major leaders in the field of plant tissue culture and transgenic technology This book is devoted to topics with references at both graduate and postgraduate levels. The book traces the roots of plant biotechnology from the basic sciences to current applications in the biological and agricultural sciences, industry, and medicine. The processes and methods used to genetically engineer plants for agricultural, environmental, and industrial purposes along with bioethical and biosafety issues of the technology are vividly described in the book.

Hormonal Cross-Talk, Plant Defense and Development: Plant Biology, Sustainability and Climate Change focuses specifically on plants and their interaction to auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, abscisic acid, jasmonates, brassinosteroids, strigolactones, and the potential those interactions offer for improved plant health and production. Plant hormones (auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, abscisic acid, jasmonates, brassinosteroids, salicylic acid, strigolactones etc.) regulate numerous aspects of plant growth and developmental processes. Each hormone initiates a specific molecular pathway, with each pathway integrated in a complex network of synergistic, antagonistic and additive interactions. This is a valuable reference for those seeking to understand and improve plant health using natural processes. The cross-talks of auxins - abscisic acid, auxins - brassinosteroids, brassinosteroids- abscisic acid, ethylene - abscisic acid, brassinosteroids - ethylene, cytokinins - abscisic acid, brassinosteroids - jasmonates, brassinosteroids - salicylic acid, and gibberellins - jasmonates - strigolactones have been shown to regulate a number of biological processes in plant system. The cross-talk provides robustness to the plant immune system but also drives specificity of induced defense responses against the plethora of biotic and abiotic interactions. - Describes hormonal cross-talk and plant defense with suitable illustrations - Includes a focus on secondary metabolites and/or bioactive compounds interactions with various plant hormones - Highlights the use of plant hormones and their interactions in plant growth and developmental processes at physiological, biochemical and molecular levels

This new volume aims to be the single source that discusses in a comprehensive and elaborate way the photosynthetic and respiratory mechanisms in plants under hostile situations and the proper mitigating strategies to continue uninterrupted photosynthesis and respiration under such situations. Photosynthesis and respiration are the two main physiological processes for sugar biosynthesis and mobilization for driving all other vital functions. This volume delivers a wealth of sound information on these processes for scientists, researchers, and academicians.With chapters from renowned scientists, researchers, and global leaders, this volume focuses on the effect of environmental stressors on photosynthetic pigments, photosystems, activities of photosynthetic enzymes and protein complexes, PSII photochemistry, carbon fixation pathways, photosynthetic efficiency, glycolytic and Krebs cycle pathways, and ATP production and electron transport chain of plants. The recovery of photosynthesis and respiration through application of phytohormones, signaling molecules, and other protective agents are also emphasized. Genetic engineering to enhance photosynthetic efficiency is highlighted as well.

Over the last few decades, various techniques have been developed to alter the properties of plants and animals. While the targeted transfer of recombinant DNA into crop plants remains a valuable tool to achieve a desirable breeding outcome, integration of transgenes into the host genome has been random, which in part, leads to reduced acceptance of GMOs by the general population in some parts of the world. Likewise, methods of induced mutagenesis, such as TILLING, have the disadvantage that many mutations are induced per plant, which has to be removed again by expensive backcrossing. Advances in genome sequencing have provided more and more information on differences between susceptible and resistant varieties, which can now be directly targeted and modified using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. By selecting specific gRNAs occurrence of off-target modifications are comparatively low. ZFNs and TALENs- based approaches required re-engineering a new set of assembled polypeptides for every new target site for each experiment. The difficulty in cloning and protein engineering prevented these tools from being broadly adopted by the scientific community. Compared to these technologies, designing the CRISPR toolbox is much simpler and more flexible. CRISPR/Cas9 is versatile, less expensive and highly efficient. It has become the most widely used technology for genome editing in many organisms.Since its inception as a powerful genome-editing tool in late 2012, this breakthrough technology has completely changed how science is performed. The first few chapters in this book introduce the basic concept, design and implementation of CRISPR/Cas9 for different plant systems. They are followed by in-depth discussions on the legal and bio-safety issues accompanying commercialization and patenting of this emerging technology. Lastly, this book covers emerging areas of new tools and potential applications. We believe readers, novice and expert alike, will benefit from this all-in-one resource on genome editing for crop improvement.Chapter 17 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This two-volume set highlights the various innovative and emerging techniques and molecular applications that are currently being used in plant abiotic stress physiology. Volume 1: Responses and Adaptations focuses on the responses and adaptations of plants to stress factors at the cellular and molecular levels and offers a variety of advanced management strategies and technologies. Volume 2: Molecular Advancements introduces a range of state-of-the-art molecular advances for the mitigation of abiotic stress in plants.With contributions from specialists in the field, Volume 1 first discusses the physiology and defense mechanisms of plants and the various kinds of stress, such as from challenging environments, climate change, and nutritional deficiencies. It goes on to discuss trailblazing management techniques that include genetics approaches for improving abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants along with CRISPR/CAS-mediated genome editing technologies.Volume 2 discusses how plants have developed diverse physiological and molecular adjustments to safeguard themselves under challenging conditions and how emerging new technologies can utilize these plant adaptations to enhance plant resistance. These include using plant-environment interactions to develop crop species that are resilient to climate change, applying genomics and phenomics approaches from the study of abiotic stress tolerance and more.Agriculture today faces countless challenges to meet the rising need for sustainable food supplies and guarantees of high-quality nourishment for a quickly increasing population. To ensure sufficient food production, it is necessary to address the difficult environmental circumstances that are causing cellular oxidative stress in plants due to abiotic factors, which play a defining role in shaping yield of crop plants. These two volumes help to meet these challenges by providing a rich source of information on plant abiotic stress physiology and effective management techniques.

Plant Perspectives to Global Climate Changes: Developing Climate-Resilient Plants reviews and integrates currently available information on the impact of the environment on functional and adaptive features of plants from the molecular, biochemical and physiological perspectives to the whole plant level. The book also provides a direction towards implementation of programs and practices that will enable sustainable production of crops resilient to climatic alterations. This book will be beneficial to academics and researchers working on stress physiology, stress proteins, genomics, proteomics, genetic engineering, and other fields of plant physiology. Advancing ecophysiological understanding and approaches to enhance plant responses to new environmental conditions is critical to developing meaningful high-throughput phenotyping tools and maintaining humankind's supply of goods and services as global climate change intensifies. - Illustrates the central role for plant ecophysiology in applying basic research to address current and future challenges for humans - Brings together global leaders working in the area of plant-environment interactions and shares research findings - Presents current scenarios and future plans of action for the management of stresses through various approaches

Plant Stress Mitigators: Types, Techniques and Functions presents a detailed contextual discussion of various stressors on plant health and yield, with accompanying insights into options for limiting impacts using chemical elicitors, bio-stimulants, breeding techniques and agronomical techniques such as seed priming, cold plasma treatment, and nanotechnology, amongst others. The book explores the various action mechanisms for enhancing plant growth and stress tolerance capacity, including nutrient solubilizing and mobilizing, biocontrol activity against plant pathogens, phytohormone production, soil conditioners, and many more unrevealed mechanisms. This book combines research, methods, opinion, perspectives and reviews, dissecting the stress alleviation action of different plant stress mitigators on crops grown under optimal and sub-optimal growing conditions (abiotic and biotic stresses). - Explores the various action mechanisms of mitigators - Highlights the relationship between mitigator and nutrient efficiency, product quality and microbial population - Includes both biotic and abiotic stressors and their mitigation options

This book provides up-to-date knowledge of the promising field of Nanobiotechnology with emphasis on the mitigation approaches to combat plant abiotic stress factors, including drought, salinity, waterlog, temperature extremes, mineral nutrients, and heavy metals. These factors adversely affect the growth as well as yield of crop plants worldwide, especially under the global climate change. Nanobiotechnology is viewed to revolutionize crop productivity in future. The chapters discuss the status and prospects of this cutting-edge technology toward understanding tolerance mechanisms, including signaling molecules and enzymes regulation in addition to the applications of Nanobiotechnology to combat individual abiotic stress factors.

In the recent past, threats from climate change and unforeseeable environmental extremes to plant growth and productivity have consistently increased. The climate change-driven effects, especially from unpredictable environmental fluctuations, can result in an increased prevalence of abiotic and biotic stresses in plants. These stresses have slowed down the global yields of crop plants. On the other hand, food security for the rapidly growing human population in a sustainable ecosystem is a major concern of the present-day world. Thus, understanding the core developmental, physiological and molecular aspects that regulate plant growth and productivity in a challenging environment is a pivotal issue to be tackled by the scientific community dealing with sustainable agricultural and horticultural practices. Plants are influenced by the adverse environmental conditions at various levels, their different and diverse responses play a significant rolein determining their growth, production and the overall geographical distribution. The chapters in this book focus on the biological mechanisms and fundamental principles that determine how different plant species grow, perform and interact with a challenging environment. This book covers a broad range of topics in plant science, including gene function, molecules, physiology, cell biology and plant ecology, to understand the functioning of plants under harsh environmental conditions. The book elucidates the physiological and molecular mechanisms in different plant species, ecophysiological interactions of plants, interplay between plant roots, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, biosensors for monitoring stress, production of secondary metabolites, stress alleviation processes, and more.

This book presents evidence-based approaches and techniques used to diagnose and manage organic solutes, oxidative stress, and antioxidant enzymes in crop plants under abiotic stressors. It discusses strategies in abiotic stress tolerance including osmoregulation, osmoprotectants, and the regulation of compatible solutes and antioxidant enzymes in plants. With contributions from 49 scholars worldwide, this authoritative guide is educational for scientists working with plants and abiotic stressors. Provides comprehensive coverage of all aspects of abiotic stress, from abiotic stresses'effects on plant growth, development, and defense mechanisms, to functionality of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant enzymes in crop plants. Outlines the dangers of reactive oxygen species. Discusses using antioxidant enzymes and antioxidant molecules in plant protection mechanisms. Edited by Arafat Abdel Hamed Abdel Latef, Professor of Plant Physiology at South Valley University, Egypt, this book is written for graduate students and scholars researching abiotic plant stressors. “The book represents an excellent strategy to understand the mechanisms and techniques of antioxidant enzymes in the plant cell under stress conditions.” – Professor Mostafa El-sheekh“Provides a thorough and detailed picture of the updated knowledge on the techniques used to manage organic solutes, oxidative stress and stress-related enzymes under abiotic stressors.” – Bhoopander Giri, Ph.D.“Will serve as an imperative source of scientific literature in the plant stress biology field.” – Narendra Singh Yadav, Ph.D.“The book has eighteen chapters written by scholars of international expertise in plant stress management.” – Dr. Sikander PAL, Senior Assistant Professor

Plants face a wide range of environmental challenges, which are expected to become more intense as a result of global climate change. Plant–soil interactions play an important role in the functioning of ecosystems. Soil properties represent a strong selection pressure for plant diversity and influence the structure of plant communities and biodiversity. The complexity of plant–soil interactions has recently been studied by developing a trait-based approach in which responses and effects of plants on soil environment are quantified and modelled. This fundamental research on plant–soil interaction in ecosystems is essential to transpose knowledge of functional ecology to environmental management.Frontiers in Plant-Soil Interaction: Molecular Insights into Plant Adaptation will address topics that provide advances in understanding plant responses to soil conditions through the integration of genetic, molecular, and plant-level studies of diverse biotic and abiotic stresses under field and laboratory conditions. This book will be beneficial to students and researchers working on stress physiology and stress proteins, genomics, proteomics, genetic engineering and other fields of plant-soil interactions. Frontiers in Plant-Soil Interaction will also help scientists explore new horizons in their area of research. - Brings together global leaders working in the area of plant–environment interactions and shares their research findings - Presents current and future scenarios for the management of stressors - Illustrates the central role for plant-soil interactions in applying basic research to address current and future challenges to humans

In the modern world, to meet increasing energy demands we need to develop new technologies allowing us to use eco-friendly carbon-neutral energy sources. Solar energy as the most promising renewable source could be the way to solve that problem, but it is variable depending on day time and season. From this side, the understanding of photosynthesis process could be of significant help for us to develop effective strategies of solar energy capturing, conversion, and storage. Plants, algae, and cyanobacteria perform photosynthesis, annually producing around 100 billion tons of dry biomass. Presently, the detailed studies of photosynthetic system structure make functional investigations of the photosynthetic process available, allowing scientists to construct artificial systems for solar energy transduction. This book summarizes exciting achievements in understanding of photosynthetic structures and mechanisms of this process made by world leaders in photosynthesis field, and contains information about modern ideas in development of revolutionary new technologies of energy conversion. Organized according to the natural sequence of events occurring during photosynthesis, the book includes information of both photosynthetic structures and mechanisms and its applications in bioenergetics issues.

Intense farming and irrigation practices are important causes of salinity which limit plant growth and productivity. Salinity has now impacted 6% of the total and 33% of the irrigated land. The severest salinity problem has arisen in semiarid or arid lands when they were subjected to excessive irrigation which turned hundreds of hectares of cultivated fertile lands into saline lands. When a change in salinity around the environment of a plant exceeds to a certain threshold level, the morphology and physiology of the plants are affected. This book emphasizes the menace of salinity in agriculture and crop production. It encompasses various studies on plants sensitive to salt (glycophytes) and tolerant to salt (halophytes). This book includes diversity of glycophytes and halophytes, effects of salinity on different stages of growth and development, ion homeostasis and cellular ion transport, their photosynthetic responses, effects on biological nitrogen fixation, redox regulation and phytohormonal adjustment, and significance of mineral nutrients in combating salinity in food crops. The most significant feature of the present book is its extensive coverage of genomics, metabolomics, ionomics, proteomics and transcriptomics approach, which provides a better understanding towards salt and its interaction with plants. This book is beneficial for students of stress physiology, environmental sciences, agronomy, life sciences and crop sciences at the university level.

Cotton, the most important natural fiber crop, has been improved by conventional breeding—largely through planned hybridization of different cotton genotypes, since the discovery of Mendelian genetics. All these efforts resulted in the development of resilient high yielding cotton varieties. However, the progress through conventional breeding procedures is slow because of long lag periods for developing a variety, little control over the new genetic combinations, unwanted traits and lack of foolproof performance testing system. Genomic assays discovered over the last two decades have made it possible to understand the “language” of the genome by associating the genes with specific traits. Together with the more recently established gene-editing tools like CRISPR-Cas9, the cotton genome can be tailored much more precisely than ever before. In this regard, genetic information has been harnessed, through (i) sequencing of the progenitor and cultivated cotton species, (ii) ongoing mega pan-genome sequencing projects, (iii) genetic and physical mapping, and (iv) introgression of genes from alien sources, that resulted in the development of resilient cotton cultivars. These technologies have been deployed or are attempting to overcome the challenges of water shortage, excessive heat in most cotton growing regions, infectious diseases and infestation of insect pests, as well as rising production cost, for sustainable cotton production beyond 2030. In this book, new knowledge generated by the cotton research community and its application for developing resilient cotton are comprehensively summarized. This book contributed by well-known cotton researchers is a timely collection of the challenges and successes of precision cotton breeding in a changing environment.

Highlights the potential of biosaline agriculture in a changing environmentCovers all important topics related to halophyte biology including biochemistry, genetics and genomicsProvides information on potential use of halophytes Each topic is explained in detail and examined from various anglesMore than 100 contributions by international experts

Agriculture faces many challenges to fulfil the growing demand for sustainable food production and ensure high-quality nutrition for a rapidly growing population. To guarantee adequate food production, it is necessary to increase the yield per area of arable land. A method for achieving this goal has been the application of growth regulators to modulate plant growth. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are substances in specific formulations which, when applied to plants or seeds, have the capacity to promote, inhibit, or modify physiological traits, development and/or stress responses. They maintain proper balance between source and sink for enhancing crop yield. PGRs are used to maximize productivity and quality, improve consistency in production, and overcome genetic and abiotic limitations to plant productivity. Suitable PGRs include hormones such as cytokinins and auxins, and hormone-like compounds such as mepiquat chloride and paclobutrazol. The use of PGRs in mainstream agriculture has steadily increased within the last 20 years as their benefits have become better understood by growers. Unfortunately, the growth of the PGR market may be constrained by a lack of innovation at a time when an increase in demand for new products will require steady innovation and discovery of novel, cost-competitive, specific, and effective PGRs.A plant bio-stimulant is any substance or microorganism applied to plants with the aim to enhance nutrition efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance and/or crop quality traits, regardless of its nutrients content. Apart from traditional PGRs, which are mostly plant hormones, there are a number of substances/molecules such as nitric oxide, methyl jasmonate, brassinosteroids, seaweed extracts, strigolactones, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria etc. which act as PGRs. These novel PGRs or bio-stimulants have been reported to play important roles in stress responses and adaptation. They can protect plants against various stresses, including water deficit, chilling and high temperatures, salinity and flooding. This book includes chapters ranging from sensing and signalling in plants to translational research. In addition, the cross-talk operative in plants in response to varied signals of biotic and abiotic nature is also presented. Ultimately the objective of this book is to present the current scenario and the future plan of action for the management of stresses through traditional as well as novel PGRs. We believe that this book will initiate and introduce readers to state-of-the-art developments and trends in this field of study.

This book encompasses current knowledge of soil microbiomes and their potential biotechnological application for plant growth, crop yield, and soil health under the natural as well as harsh environmental conditions for sustainable agriculture. The microbes are ubiquitous in nature. The soil is a natural hotspot of the soil microbiome. The soil microbiome plays a critical role in the maintenance of global nutrient balance and ecosystem functioning. The soil microbiomes are associated with plant ecosystems through the intense network of plant–microbe interactions. The microbes present in bulk soil move toward the rhizospheric region due to the release of different nutrients by plant systems. The rhizospheric microbes may survive or proliferate in rhizospheric zone depending on the extent of influences of the chemicals secreted into the soil by roots. The root exudates contain the principal nutrients factors (amino acids, glucose, fructose, and sucrose). The microbes present in rhizospheric region have capabilities to fix atmospheric nitrogen, produce different phytohormones, and solubilize phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. The plant systems take these nutrients for their growth and developments. These soil and plant associated microbes also play an important role in protection of plants from different plant pathogenic organisms by producing different secondary metabolites such as ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, siderophores, and hydrolytic enzymes. The soil microbiomes with plant growth-promoting (PGP) attributes have emerged as an important and promising tool for sustainable agriculture. The soil microbiomes promote the plant growth and enhance the crop yield and soil fertility via directly or indirectly different plant growth-promoting mechanism. The soil microbes help the plant for adaptation in extreme habitats by mitigating the abiotic stress of high/low temperatures, hypersalinity, drought, and acidic/alkaline soil. These PGP microbes are used as biofertilizers/bioinoculants to replace the harmful chemical fertilizers for sustainable agriculture and environments.The aim of the book “Soil Microbiomes for Sustainable Agriculture” is to provide the recent advances in mechanisms of plant growth promotion and applications of soil microbiomes for mitigation of different abiotic stresses in plants. The book is useful to scientists, researchers, and students related to microbiology, biotechnology, agriculture, molecular biology, environmental biology, and related subjects.

Plant Life under Changing Environment: Responses and Management presents the latest insights, reflecting the significant progress that has been made in understanding plant responses to various changing environmental impacts, as well as strategies for alleviating their adverse effects, including abiotic stresses. Growing from a focus on plants and their ability to respond, adapt, and survive, Plant Life under Changing Environment: Responses and Management addresses options for mitigating those responses to ensure maximum health and growth. Researchers and advanced students in environmental sciences, plant ecophysiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, nano-pollution climate change, and soil pollution will find this an important foundational resource. - Covers both responses and adaptation of plants to altered environmental states - Illustrates the current impact of climate change on plant productivity, along with mitigation strategies - Includes transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic and ionomic approaches

This book examines the way that lead enters the biosphere and the subsequent environmental impact. The contributing authors include international experts who provide methods for assessing and characterizing the ecological risk of lead contamination of soil and plants. Information is provided on the consequences for human health as a result of lead pollution. This book reveals that approximately 98% of stable lead in the atmosphere originates from human activities.Lead in Plants and the Environment reports on methods for detecting, measuring, and assessing the concentration of lead in plants. The authors provide a method for the measurement of 210Pb isotopes in plants. This method can be applied extensively in different environmental settings, not only as a way of revealing sources of lead, but also as a way to monitor lead transport in plants and animals that ingest them.The chapters include coverage on the following topics:· Lead bioavailability in the environment and its exposure and effects· Radioanalytical methods for detecting and identifying trace concentrations of lead in the environment· Lead contamination and its dynamics in soil plant systems· Lead pollution monitoring and remediation through terrestrial plants in mesocosm constructed wetlands· A review of phytoremediation of leadThis book is a valuable resource to students, academics, researchers, and environmental professionals doing field work on lead contamination throughout the world.

Priming-Mediated Stress and Cross-Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants provides the latest, in-depth understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with the development of stress and cross-stress tolerance in plants. Plants growing under field conditions are constantly exposed, either sequentially or simultaneously, to many abiotic or biotic stress factors. As a result, many plants have developed unique strategies to respond to ever-changing environmental conditions, enabling them to monitor their surroundings and adjust their metabolic systems to maintain homeostasis. Recently, priming mediated stress and cross-stress tolerance (i.e., greater tolerance to a second, stronger stress after exposure to a different, milder primary stress) have attracted considerable interest within the scientific community as potential means of stress management and for producing stress-resistant crops to aid global food security. Priming-Mediated Stress and Cross-Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants comprehensively reviews the physiological, biochemical, and molecular basis of cross-tolerance phenomena, allowing researchers to develop strategies to enhance crop productivity under stressful conditions and to utilize natural resources more efficiently. The book is a valuable asset for plant and agricultural scientists in corporate or government environments, as well as educators and advanced students looking to promote future research into plant stress tolerance. - Provides comprehensive information for developing multiple stress-tolerant crop varieties - Includes in-depth physiological, biochemical, and molecular information associated with cross-tolerance - Includes contribution from world-leading cross-tolerance research group - Presents color images and diagrams for effective communication of key concepts

This book provides an up-to-date account of the current understanding of climate change and global warming related to environment, climate, plant and vegetation growth. The aim of this book is to provide a platform for scientists and academics world-wide to promote, share, and discuss various new issues and developments in the area of plant and vegetation growth related to climate change. Over the next decades, it is predicted that billions of people, particularly those in developing countries, face shortages of water and food and greater risks to health and life as a result of climate change. Concerted global action is needed to enable developing countries to adapt to the effects of climate change that are happening now and will worsen in the future. The book will also enhance the understanding on issues related to climate change, giving a clear indication of a looming global warming crisis. Addressing global climate change is a monumental battle that can only be fought by the leaders of tomorrow, but future leaders are molded through education and shaped by the leaders of today.

This book provides all aspects of the physiology, stress responses and tolerance to abiotic stresses of the Brassicaceae plants. Different plant families have been providing food, fodder, fuel, medicine and other basic needs for the human and animal since the ancient time. Among the plant families, Brassicaceae has special importance for their agri-horticultural importance and multifarious uses apart from the basic needs. Interest understanding the response of Brassicaceae plants toward abiotic stresses is growing considering the economic importance and the special adaptive mechanisms. The knowledge needs to be translated into improved elite lines that can contribute to achieve food security. The physiological and molecular mechanisms acting on Brassicaceae introduced in this book are useful to students and researchers working on biology, physiology, environmental interactions and biotechnology of Brassicaceae plants.

Abiotic stresses such as drought, flooding, high or low temperatures, metal toxicity and salinity can hamper plant growth and development. Improving Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants explains the physiological and molecular mechanisms plants naturally exhibit to withstand abiotic stresses and outlines the potential approaches to enhance plant abiotic stress tolerance to extreme conditions. Synthesising developments in plant stress biology, the book offers strategies that can be used in breeding, genomic, molecular, physiological and biotechnological approaches that hold the potential to develop resilient plants and improve crop productivity worldwide.Features· Comprehensively explains molecular and physiological mechanism of multiple abiotic stress tolerance in plants· Discusses recent advancements in crop abiotic stress tolerance mechanism and highlights strategies to develop abiotic stress tolerant genotypes for sustainability· Stimulates synthesis of information for plant stress biology for biotechnological applications· Presents essential information for large scale breeding and agricultural biotechnological programs for crop improvementWritten by a team of expert scientists, this book benefits researchers in the field of plant stress biology and is essential reading for graduate students and researchers generating stress tolerant crops through genetic engineering and plant breeding. It appeals to individuals developing sustainable agriculture through physiological and biotechnological applications.

This book focuses on the conventional breeding approach, and on the latest high-throughput genomics tools and genetic engineering / biotechnological interventions used to improve rice quality. It is the first book to exclusively focus on rice as a major food crop and the application of genomics and genetic engineering approaches to achieve enhanced rice quality in terms of tolerance to various abiotic stresses, resistance to biotic stresses, herbicide resistance, nutritional value, photosynthetic performance, nitrogen use efficiency, and grain yield. The range of topics is quite broad and exhaustive, making the book an essential reference guide for researchers and scientists around the globe who are working in the field of rice genomics and biotechnology. In addition, it provides a road map for rice quality improvement that plant breeders and agriculturists can actively consult to achieve better crop production.

New research tools have revealed many surprising aspects of the dynamic nature of lipids and their participation in processes such as recognition, intra- and inter-cellular signalling, deterrence and defense against pathogens, membrane trafficking and protein function. This is in addition to new information on the more established roles of plant lipids as structural components of membranes and as long-term storage products. Plant lipids are also increasingly being seen as sources of a new generation of environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and renewable industrial products, including biopolymers and high-grade lubricants.Plant Lipids: Biology, Utilisation and Manipulation provides a broad overview of plant lipid research and its many applications. Linking various disciplines, the editor brings together researchers from major international laboratories to review the history and current state of progress in this quickly evolving field. The text starts by providing a fascinating historical perspective on the study of plant lipids, from its inception as a branch of alchemy in the seventeenth century to the current post-genomic era. It then offers a detailed discussion on the formation, modification and utilization of fatty acids. This is followed by an exploration of the major classes of macromolecular structures formed by plant lipids, including bilayer membranes and storage bodies. From there, the contributors consider other types of macromolecular lipid assemblies in plants, examining proteins and the key plant lipid structure - the cuticle. The final chapters look at diverse classes of plant lipids that are linked to various aspects of signaling. This text provides an excellent resource for researchers and professionals in plant biochemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology and genetics, in both the academic and industrial sectors. It also meets the needs of students looking for a comprehensive introduction to this field, as well as direction for fut

Environmental Plant Physiology focuses on the physiology of plant-environment interactions, revealing plants as the key terrestrial intersection of the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere. It provides a contemporary understanding of the topic by focusing on some of humankind's fundamental biological, agricultural and environmental challenges. Its chapters identify thirteen key environmental variables, grouping them into resources, stressors and pollutants, and leading the reader through how they challenge plants and how plants respond at molecular, physiological, whole plant and ecological levels. The importance of taking account of spatial and temporal dimensions of environmental change in order to understand plant function is emphasised. The book uses a mixture of ecological, environmental and agricultural examples throughout in order to provide a holistic view of the topic suitable for a contemporary student audience. Each chapter uses a novel stress response hierarchy to integrate plant responses across spatial and temporal scales in an easily digestible framework.

As the largest scale chemical reaction, photosynthesis supplies all of the organic carbon and oxygen for life on Earth. It is estimated that the photosynthetic activity of microorganisms is responsible for more than 50% of the primary production of molecular oxygen on Earth. This book highlights recent breakthroughs in the multidisciplinary areas of microbial photosynthesis, presenting the latest developments in various areas of microbial photosynthesis research, from bacteria to eukaryotic algae, and from theoretical biology to structural biology and biophysics. Furthermore, the book discusses advances in photosynthetic chassis, such as in the context of metabolic engineering and green chemical production. Featuring contributions by leading authorities in photosynthesis research, the book is a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers in the field, especially those studying biological evolution and the origin of life.

The use of fossil fuels results in rising CO2 and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, causing global temperature rise and climate change that will negatively impact human health, the food supply, and eventually worsen hunger and misery. Presently, fossil fuels meet 88% of the energy demand, resulting in rising CO2/GHG emissions at alarming rates. The increased use of biofuels would help to mitigate climate change. Efficiently designing methods for the production of biofuels and plant-derived high-value products requires a deeper understanding of photosynthetic processes as a prerequisite for applying novel biotechnologies. Accordingly, this book provides ample information and a wealth of illustrative examples. The book's eighteen richly illustrated chapters are divided into three thematic parts. I: Photosynthesis and Biomass Production under Changing Conditions, II: Microalgae and Engineered Crops for Production of Biofuels and High-value Products, and III: Genetic Resources and Engineering Methods to Improve Crop Plants. Readers will find the latest information on the molecular basis of photosynthetic processes in plants (including the regulatory principles that allow plants to maintain homeostasis under changing conditions), stress resistance and synthetic pathways. In addition, the basic principles of important biotechnologies, as well as examples of specially designed crops capable of growing under stress conditions with improved productivity, are presented. The book sets the course for future research in the field of biofuel development and production and provides both general and specific information for students, teachers, academic researchers, industrial teams, and general readers who are interested in new developments concerning the production of biofuels with value-added properties.

Algae, including cyanobacteria, are in the spotlight today for a number of reasons; firstly it has become abundantly clear over recent years that algae have been neglected in terms of basic research and that knowledge gap is being rapidly closed with the establishment of some surprising discoveries, such as the presence of Near-Infra-Red-Absorbing cyanobacteria and a wealth of natural products; secondly molecular approaches have provided a wealth of approaches to genetically modify algae and produce value-added products; thirdly it has become clear just how important, marine phytoplankton is to global carbon capture and the production of food globally; and fourthly, it has also become clear that algae present unparalleled opportunities to generate biofuels in a sustainable and non-polluting way. This volume presents 15 chapters by world experts on their subjects, ranging from reviews of algal diversity and genetics to in-depth reviews of special algal groups such as diatoms (which account for over 30% of marine carbon capture). Other chapters chart the ways in which this carbon capture occurs or how there are a multiplicity of ways in which algae intercept sun light and deploy this energy for carbon capture. A fascinating aspect here is the way in which sun light is harvested. A special chapter is devoted to the very recent and exciting possibility that algae use coherent light energy transformation to enhance the efficiency of light capture, an aspect of quantum physics that has implications for future developments at several levels and a variety of industries. Just how and why algae use Chlorophyll a as the major light capture pigment is discussed in several chapters. However, attention is also given to those cyanobacteria, which have been found to use the special Near-Infra Red absorbing chlorophylls mentioned above. And attention is also given to those algae that employ phycobiliproteins to fill in the “green window”, i.e., the spectral region from 400 – 650 nm, which is not efficiently covered by chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments. Photoinhibition and photoprotection is the subject area of several chapters and one which it is essential to understand a we work towards greater efficiency of algal photosynthesis. A final chapter is devoted to understanding the molecular basis for coral bleaching, a much-neglected area that is essential in trying to come up with solutions to this very worrying phenomenon, caused by global warming and ocean acidification.This is a book for research scientists, environmentalists, planners in a range of areas including those of marine resources, nutrient control and pollution of water bodies and that growing body of concerned citizens interested in controlling carbon emissions and global warming. Special attention has been given to generating a set of articles that will be read by university students, informed laymen and all those whose wish to understand the rapid changes that have come about in our knowledge of algae over the past decade.

This twelve volume set covers a wide range of topics, including: medical marijuana; bioactive packaging; weed management; and biocontrol agents.

This book provides an up-to-date review and analysis of the carrot's nuclear and organellar genome structure and evolution. In addition, it highlights applications of carrot genomic information to elucidate the carrot's natural and agricultural history, reproductive biology, and the genetic basis of traits important in agriculture and human health. The carrot genome was sequenced in 2016, and its relatively small diploid genome, combined with the fact that it is the most complete root crop genome released to date and the first-ever Euasterid II genome to be sequenced, mean the carrot has an important role in the study of plant development and evolution. In addition, the carrot is among the top ten vegetables grown worldwide, and the abundant orange provitamin A carotenoids that account for its familiar orange color make it the richest crop source of vitamin A in the US diet, and in much of the world. This book includes the latest genetic maps, genetic tools and resources, and covers advances in genetic engineering that are relevant for plant breeders and biologists alike.

A guide to environmental fluctuations that examines photosynthesis under both controlled and stressed conditions Photosynthesis, Productivity and Environmental Stress is a much-needed guide that explores the topics related to photosynthesis (both terrestrial and aquatic) and puts the focus on the basic effect of environmental fluctuations. The authors—noted experts on the topic—discuss photosynthesis under both controlled and stressed conditions and review new techniques for mitigating stressors including methods such as transgeneics, proteomics, genomics, ionomics, metabolomics, micromics, and more. In order to feed our burgeoning world population, it is vital that we must increase food production. Photosynthesis is directly related to plant growth and crop production and any fluctuation in the photosynthetic activity imposes great threat to crop productivity. Due to the environmental fluctuations plants are often exposed to the different environmental stresses that cause decreased photosynthetic rate and problems in the plant growth and development. This important book addresses this topic and: Covers topics related to terrestrial and aquatic photosynthesis Highlights the basic effect of environmental fluctuations Explores common stressors such as drought, salinity, alkalinity, temperature, UV-radiations, oxygen deficiency, and more Contains methods and techniques for improving photosynthetic efficiency for greater crop yield Written for biologists and environmentalists, Photosynthesis, Productivity and Environmental Stress offers an overview of the stressors affecting photosynthesis and includes possible solutions for improved crop production.

This book contains current knowledge and the most recent developments in the field of halophyte biology, ecology, and potential uses. Halophytes are characterised as plants that can survive and complete their life cycle in highly saline environments. This book explores the adaptive mechanisms and special features of halophytes that allow them to grow in environments that are unsuitable for conventional crops and considers their role as a source of food, fuel, fodder, fibre, essential oils, and medicines. Halophytes and Climate Change includes coverage of: - Special morphological, anatomical, and physiological features of halophytes - Ion accumulation patterns and homeostasis in halophytes - Potential use of halophytes in the remediation of saline soil - Growth and physiological response and tolerance to toxicity and drought - Mangrove ecology, physiology, and adaptation Written by a team of international authors and presented in full colour, this book is an essential resource for researchers in the fields of plant physiology, ecology, soil science, environmental science, botany, and agriculture.

This book offers an overview of salt stress, which has a devastating effect on the yields of various agricultural crops around the globe. Excessive salts in soil reduce the availability of water, inhibit metabolic processes, and affect nutrient composition, osmotic balance, and hydraulic conductivity. Plants have developed a number of tolerance mechanisms, such as various compatible solutes, polyamines, reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defense mechanisms, ion transport and compartmentalization of injurious ions. The exploitation of genetic variation, use of plant hormones, mineral nutrients, soil microbe interactions, and other mechanical practices are of prime importance in agriculture, and as such have been the subject of multidisciplinary research. Covering both theoretical and practical aspects, the book provides essential physiological, ecological, biochemical, environmental and molecular information as well as perspectives for future research. It is a valuable resource for students, teachers and researchers and anyone interested in agronomy, ecology, stress physiology, environmental science, crop science and molecular biology.

This book gathers the latest findings on the microbial ecology of saline habitats, plant-microbe interactions under saline conditions, and saline soil reclamation for agricultural use. The content is divided into four main parts: Part I outlines the definition of salinity, its genesis and impacts, and microbial diversity in saline habitats. Part II deals with impact of salinity on microbial and plant life/health. Part III highlights plant – microbe interactions in saline environments, and Part IV describes strategies for mitigation and reclamation of saline soils. The salinization of arable land is steadily increasing in many parts of the world. An excessive concentration of soluble salts (salinity) in soils or irrigation water adversely affects plant growth and survival. This problem is exacerbated in arid and semiarid areas due to their low precipitation and high evaporation rates. In turn, poor management practices and policies for using river water forthe irrigation of agriculture crops often lead to the secondary salinization of soils.Considering the growing demands of a constantly expanding population, understanding the microbial ecology and interactions under saline conditions and their implications for sustainable agriculture is of utmost importance. Providing both an essential review of the status quo and a future outlook, this book represents a valuable asset for researchers, environmentalists and students working in microbiology and agriculture..

Soil salinity is a key abiotic-stress and poses serious threats to crop yields and quality of produce. Owing to the underlying complexity, conventional breeding programs have met with limited success. Even genetic engineering approaches, via transferring/overexpressing a single ‘direct action gene'per event did not yield optimal results. Nevertheless, the biotechnological advents in last decade coupled with the availability of genomic sequences of major crops and model plants have opened new vistas for understanding salinity-responses and improving salinity tolerance in important glycophytic crops. Our goal is to summarize these findings for those who wish to understand and target the molecular mechanisms for producing salt-tolerant and high-yielding crops. Through this 2-volume book series, we critically assess the potential venues for imparting salt stress tolerance to major crops in the post-genomic era. Accordingly, perspectives on improving crop salinity tolerance by targeting the sensory, ion-transport and signaling mechanisms are presented here in volume 1. Volume 2 will focus on the potency of post-genomic era tools that include RNAi, genomic intervention, genome editing and systems biology approaches for producing salt tolerant crops.

Cold stress is one of the prevalent environmental stresses affecting crop productivity, particularly in temperate regions. Numerous plant types of tropical or subtropical origin are injured or killed by non-freezing low temperature, and display a range of symptoms of chilling injury such as chlorosis, necrosis, or growth retardation. In contrast, chilling tolerant species thrive well at such temperatures. To thrive under cold stress conditions, plants have evolved complex mechanisms to identify peripheral signals that allow them to counter varying environmental conditions. These mechanisms include stress perception, signal transduction, transcriptional activation of stress-responsive target genes, and synthesis of stress-related proteins and other molecules, which help plants to strive through adverse environmental conditions. Conventional breeding methods have met with limited success in improving the cold tolerance of important crop plants through inter-specific or inter-generic hybridization. A better understanding of physiological, biochemical and molecular responses and tolerance mechanisms, and discovery of novel stress-responsive pathways and genes may contribute to efficient engineering strategies that enhance cold stress tolerance. It is therefore imperative to accelerate the efforts to unravel the biochemical, physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying cold stress tolerance in plants.Through this new book, we intend to integrate the contributions from plant scientists targeting cold stress tolerance mechanisms using physiological, biochemical, molecular, structural and systems biology approaches. It is hoped that this collection will serve as a reference source for those who are interested in or are actively engaged in cold stress research.

Biochemical, Physiological and Molecular Avenues for Combating Abiotic Stress in Plants is a must-have reference for researchers and professionals in agronomy, plant science and horticulture. As abiotic stress tolerance is a constant challenge for researchers and professionals working on improving crop production, this book combines recent advances with foundational content, thus offering in-depth coverage on a variety of abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms that help us better understand and improve plant response and growth under stress conditions. The mechanisms explored in this book include stress perception, signal transduction and synthesis of stress-related proteins and other molecules. In addition, the book provides a critical understanding of the networks of genes responsible for abiotic stress tolerance and their utilization in the development of stress tolerance in plants. Practical breeding techniques and modern genetic analyses are also discussed. - Unlocks the physiological, biochemical and molecular basis of abiotic stress response and tolerance in crop plants - Presents comprehensive information on abiotic stress tolerance, from gene to whole plant level - Includes content on antioxidant metabolism, marker-assisted selection, microarrays, next-generation sequencing and genome editing techniques