Terricolous lichens, a habitat specialist group of lichens play a vital role in maintenance and ecological stability of soil crusts with reference to their physical stability, hydrology and growth of soil microflora. Terricolous lichens in Indian lichenological studies haven't been taken up as a functional group. Terricolous Lichens in India, Volume 1: Diversity Patterns and Distribution Ecology is the first ever publication dealing with soil lichens of India. Divided into five chapters, this volume discusses the lichenological researches in India with reference to terricolous lichens, the altitudinal distribution patterns of terricolous lichens, comparative assessment of distribution with global patterns, and the photobiont diversity and influence of novel molecular clades of photobiont in determining ecological preferences of soil lichens in India. Written by experts in the field and supplemented with numerous photographs, Terricolous Lichens in India, Volume 1: Diversity Patterns and Distribution Ecology is a comprehensive resource that addresses the major drivers of terricolous lichens distribution in India.

A number of abiotic factors such as drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, low or high light intensity, and deficiency or toxic levels of nutrients have huge impacts on crop productivity, and a furthering of our understanding of the molecular, biochemical, and physiological basis of stress tolerance has been widely recognized as critical. In Plant Stress Tolerance: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers cover the most important widely-used techniques, including cutting-edge strategies, in a manner that ensures effective results. Beginning with reviews on dehydration, salinity, and cold tolerance as well as on oxidative stress, the volume then continues with methods involving topics such as describing the identification of stress-regulated genes, proteins, and microRNAs using diverse approaches, measurement of osmotic adjustment, proline levels, enzymes involved in proline metabolism, and sugars as well as determination of ROS levels, lipid peroxidation, ion leakage, and the enzymes involved in ROS detoxification. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters include introductions to their respective subjects, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Comprehensive and up-to-date, Plant Stress Tolerance: Methods and Protocols provides a wide range of easy-to-follow protocols catering to the needs of plant physiologists, biochemists, and molecular biologists interested in probing this vital area of study.

This book reviews various aspects of papaya genomics, including existing genetic and genomic resources, recent progress on structural and functional genomics, and their applications in papaya improvement. Organized into four sections, the volume explores the origin and domestication of papaya, classic genetics and breeding, recent progress on molecular genetics, and current and future applications of genomic resources for papaya improvement. Bolstered by contributions from authorities in the field, Genetics and Genomics of Papaya is a valuable resource that provides the most up to date information for papaya researchers and plant biologists.

The importance of the plant growth regulator auxin for plant growth has long been recognized, even before the discovery of its chemical structures in the early 20th century. Physiological studies in the decades since have demonstrated that auxin is unidirectionally transported in plants, a process dubbed polar auxin transport. It is the polar auxin transport process that generates a local auxin concentration gradient and regulates a broad array of physiological and developmental processes. The discoveries of auxin transport carrier proteins that mediate auxin influx into and efflux out of transport-competent cells and auxin receptor proteins for auxin signaling in the last few decades represent significant milestones in auxin research and open up opportunities to probe the cellular and molecular processes that regulate auxin transport and integrate environmental cues with signaling processes. Remarkably, components of the polar auxin transport machinery are present in both lower plants such as mosses and higher plants including monocots and eudicots, illustrating the key role of polar auxin transport in plant evolution. This book highlights topics ranging from physiological and genetic studies of polar auxin transport in plant development, to growth responses to the environment and plant-microbe interactions, to hormonal cross-talks with various cellular and molecular regulatory processes essential for polar auxin transport.

The book "Salicylic acid: A Plant Hormone" was first published in 1997 and was praised for its excellent balance of traditional and modern topics. This time, we're building on the success of the prior edition to provide an even more effective second edition. The present book is comprised of 16 chapters highlighting the updated mechanisms of its biosynthesis, physiological role, its action in response to water deficit, relationship of SA with signal transduction, transport of SA and related compounds. Further, the interplay between environmental signals and SA, its impact on transport and distribution of sugars, salicylic acid mediated stress-induced flowering and some aspects of interplay of SA with JA during the establishment of plant resistance to pathogens with different types of nutrition and participation of peroxidases have also been discussed at length. Potential use of SA in food production and its efficiency on post-harvest of perishable crops as well as practical use of SA are also covered.

Experience shows that biotic stresses occur with different levels of intensity in nearly all agricultural areas around the world. The occurrence of insects, weeds and diseases caused by fungi, bacteria or viruses may not be relevant in a specific year but they usually harm yield in most years. Global warming has shifted the paradigm of biotic stresses in most growing areas, especially in the tropical countries, sparking intense discussions in scientific forums. This book was written with the idea of collecting in a single publication the most recent advances and discoveries concerning breeding for biotic stresses, covering all major classes of biotic challenges to agriculture and food production. Accordingly, it presents the state-of-the-art in plant stresses caused by all microorganisms, weeds and insects and how to breed for them. Complementing Plant Breeding for Abiotic Stress Tolerance, this book was written for scientists and students interested in learning how to breed for biotic stress scenarios, allowing them to develop a greater understanding of the basic mechanisms of resistance to biotic stresses and develop resistant cultivars.

The problems engendered by the conflicting imperatives of development and ecology show no sign of ending, and every day more locations are added to the list of landscapes poisoned by human activity. This vital book, featuring an international set of authors, is a key reference for researchers and environmental managers, as well as anyone involved in the mining industry or landscape remediation. The comprehensive coverage of current approaches to phytoremediation begins by examining the problem. It looks at natural and human-induced toxins, and their effects on natural vegetation as well as agricultural crops. Particular attention is paid to the two largest challenges to remediation - heavy metals, and the salt stress that is impeding agricultural productivity worldwide. The text moves on to focus on the efficacy of different plant species in removing toxic pollutants from the environment. Along with analysis of a number of case studies, this section includes new and updated information on the mechanism of toxin-tolerance in plants.

Cotton production today is not to be undertaken frivolously if one expects to profit by its production. If cotton production is to be sustainable and produced profitably, it is essential to be knowledgeable about the growth and development of the cotton plant and in the adaptation of cultivars to the region as well as the technology available. In addition, those individuals involved in growing cotton should be familiar with the use of management aids to know the most profitable time to irrigate, apply plant growth regulators, herbicides, foliar fertilizers, insecticides, defoliants, etc. The chapters in this book were assembled to provide those dealing with the production of cotton with the basic knowledge of the physiology of the plant required to manage the cotton crop in a profitable manner.

Allelopathy is an ecological phenomenon by which plants release organic chemicals (allelochemicals) into the environment influencing the growth and survival of other organisms. In this book, leading scientists in the field synthesize latest developments in allelopathy research with a special emphasis on its application in sustainable agriculture. The following topics are highlighted: Ecological implications, such as the role of allelopathy during the invasion of alien plant species; regional experiences with the application of allelopathy in agricultural systems and pest management; the use of microscopy for modeling allelopathy; allelopathy and abiotic stress tolerance; host allelopathy and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; allelopathic interaction with plant nutrition; and the molecular mechanisms of allelopathy. This book is an invaluable source of information for scientists, teachers and advanced students in the fields of plant physiology, agriculture, ecology, environmental sciences, and molecular biology.

Heavy metal accumulation in soil and water from natural sources or anthropogenic activities have produced severe environmental contamination in some parts of the world due to the persistence of metals in the environment by their accumulation throughout the food chain. The purpose of this book is to present the most recent advances in this field, mainly concerning the uptake and translocation of heavy metals in plants, mechanisms of toxicity, perception of metal and regulation of cell response under metal stress. Another key feature of this book is related to the studies on signaling and remediation processes in recent years, which have taken advantage of recent technological advances including "omic" approaches. In recent years transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic studies have become very important tools for analyzing both the dynamics of changes in gene expression and the profiles of protein and metabolites under heavy metal stress. This information is also very useful for plotting the complex signaling and metabolic network induced by heavy metals, in which hormones and reactive oxygen species (ROS) also play an important role. Understanding the mechanism involved in sequestration and hyperaccumulation is very important to developing new strategies of phytoremediation, which are reviewed in several chapters of this book. The information included yields very stimulating insights into the mechanism involved in the regulation of plant responses to heavy metals, which in turn improve our knowledge of cell regulation under metal stress and the use of plants for phytoremediation.

Malformation disease of mango (Mangifera indica) initially noted in patches in India has now turned into a global menace wherever mango is grown. The challenge posed by the problem attracted interest of Scientists from various disciplines, continue to do so, and will attract their attention until the problem is understood threadbare, and resolved. For a long time, due to complex nature of the disease, the cause and causal agent was both hotly debated. Only in recent years, the issue of the etiology of the disease has been resolved, epidemiology has been worked out to a large extent and silver bullet control measures have been replaced by IPM strategy based on the information generated on the physiology of pathogenesis and epidemiology of the disease.

With the predicted increase of the human population and the subsequent need for larger food supplies, root health in crop plants could play a major role in providing sustainable highly productive crops that can cope with global climate changes. While the essentiality of roots and their relation to plant performance is broadly recognized, less is known about their role in plant growth and development. "Root Genomics" examines how various new genomic technologies are rapidly being applied to the study of roots, including high-throughput sequencing and genotyping, TILLING, transcription factor analysis, comparative genomics, gene discovery and transcriptional profiling, post-transcriptional events regulating microRNAs, proteome profiling and the use of molecular markers such as SSRs, DArTs, and SNPs for QTL analyses and the identification of superior genes/alleles. The book also covers topics such as the molecular breeding of crops in problematic soils and the responses of roots to a variety of stresses.

Plants are sessile and prone to multiple stresses in the changing environmental conditions. Of the several strategies adopted by plants to counteract the adverse effects of abiotic stress, phytohormones provide signals to allow plants to survive under stress conditions. They are one of the key systems integrating metabolic and developmental events in the whole plant and the response of plants to external factors and are essential for many processes throughout the life of a plant and influence the yield and quality of crops. The book 'Phytohormones and Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants' summarizes the current body of knowledge on crosstalk between plant stresses under the influence of phytohormones, and provides state-of-the-art knowledge of recent developments in understanding the role of phytohormones and abiotic stress tolerance in plants. This book presents information on how modulation in phytohormone levels affect regulation of biochemical and molecular mechanisms.

Along the undisturbed shores, especially of the Mediterranean Sea and the European North Atlantic Ocean, is a quite widespread plant called Beta maritima by botanists, or more commonly sea beet. Nothing, for the inexperienced observer's eye, distinguishes it from surrounding wild vegetation. Despite its inconspicuous and nearly invisible flowers, the plant has had and will have invaluable economic and scientific importance. Indeed, according to Linne, it is considered "the progenitor of the beet crops possibly born from Beta maritima in some foreign country". Recent molecular research confirmed this lineage. Selection applied after domestication has created many cultivated types with different destinations. The wild plant always has been harvested and used both for food and as a medicinal herb. Sea beet crosses easily with the cultivated types. This facilitates the transmission of genetic traits lost during domestication, which selection processes aimed only at features immediately useful to farmers and consumers may have depleted. Indeed, as with several crop wild relatives, Beta maritima has been successfully used to improve cultivated beet's genetic resistances against many diseases and pests. In fact, sugar beet cultivation currently would be impossible in many countries without the recovery of traits preserved in the wild germplasm. Dr. Enrico Biancardi graduated from Bologna University. From 1977 until 2009, he was involved in sugar beet breeding activity by the Istituto Sperimentale per le Colture Industriali (ISCI) formerly Stazione Sperimentale di Bieticoltura (Rovigo, Italy), where he released rhizomania and cercospora resistant germplasm and collected seeds of Mediterranean sea beet populations as a genetic resource for breeding and ex situ conservation. Retired since 2009, he still collaborates with several working breeders, in particular, at the USDA Agricultural Research Stations, at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (CAAS), and at the Athens University (AUA). He has edited books, books chapters and authored more than 150 papers. Dr. Lee Panella is a plant breeder and geneticist with the USDA-ARS at Fort Collins, Colorado. He earned his B.S. in Crop and Soil Science from Michigan State University, an M.S. in Plant Breeding from Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of California at Davis. His research focus is developing disease resistant germplasm using sugar beet wild relatives. He is chairman of the USDA-ARS Sugar Beet Crop Germplasm Committee and has collected and worked extensively with sea beet. Dr. Robert T. Lewellen was raised on a ranch in Eastern Oregon and obtained a B.S. in Crop Science from Oregon State University followed by a Ph.D. from Montana State University in Genetics. From 1966 to 2008 he was a research geneticist for the USDA-ARS at Salinas, California, where he studied the genetics of sugar beet and as a plant breeder, often used sea beet as a genetic source to produce many pest and disease resistant sugar beet germplasm and parental lines, while authoring more than 100 publications.

Millions of trees live and grow all around us, and we all recognize the vital role they play in the world's ecosystems. Publicity campaigns exhort us to plant yet more. Yet until recently comparatively little was known about the root causes of the physical changes that attend their growth. Since trees typically increase in size by three to four orders of magnitude in their journey to maturity, this gap in our knowledge has been a crucial issue to address. Here at last is a synthesis of the current state of our knowledge about both the causes and consequences of ontogenetic changes in key features of tree structure and function. During their ontogeny, trees undergo numerous changes in their physiological function, the structure and mechanical properties of their wood, and overall architecture and allometry. This book examines the central interplay between these changes and tree size and age. It also explores the impact these changes can have, at the level of the individual tree, on the emerging characteristics of forest ecosystems at various stages of their development. The analysis offers an explanation for the importance of discriminating between the varied physical properties arising from the nexus of size and age, as well as highlighting the implications these ontogenetic changes have for commercial forestry and climate change. This important and timely summation of our knowledge base in this area, written by highly respected researchers, will be of huge interest, not only to researchers, but also to forest managers and silviculturists.

These proceedings bring together diverse disciplines that study nitrogen fixation and describe the most recent advances made in various fields: chemists are now studying FeMoco, the active site of nitrogenase in non-protein surroundings, and have refined the crystal structure of the enzyme to 1.6 angstroms.

This volume summarizes current research on the influence of plant polyphenols on human health, promoting collaboration between chemists and biologists to improve our understanding of their biological significance, and expanding the possibilities for their use.

This book is a comprehensive account of recent advances in the endophytic research. It covers recent perspective of endophytic research, molecular diversity, bioprospecting of novel genes using high throughput molecular techniques, and most importantly application of endophytes in practicing sustainable agriculture. Endophytic micro-organisms are mysterious living component associated mutually with plant roots and soil microbes. Various endophytic bacteria have attracted considerable attention for their ability to promote plant growth through direct mechanisms or by acting as biocontrol agents. Endophytes also find use in biocontrol, medicine, agriculture and food industry. This is a useful reading for the student of agriculture, environmental microbiology and biotechnology.

This book covers the hot topics of angiosperm structure and evolution in several chapters discussing vegetative and reproductive characters. It also looks at the implications of ancestral angiosperm characters for an herbaceous origin and the phylogeny of angiosperms from a structure and molecular perspective.

The Genetics and Genomics of the Brassicaceae provides a review of this important family (commonly termed the mustard family, or Cruciferae). The family contains several cultivated species, including radish, rocket, watercress, wasabi and horseradish, in addition to the vegetable and oil crops of the Brassica genus. There are numerous further species with great potential for exploitation in 21st century agriculture, particularly as sources of bioactive chemicals. These opportunities are reviewed, in the context of the Brassicaceae in agriculture. More detailed descriptions are provided of the genetics of the cultivated Brassica crops, including both the species producing most of the brassica vegetable crops (B. rapa and B. oleracea) and the principal species producing oilseed crops (B. napus and B. juncea). The Brassicaceae also include important "model" plant species. Most prominent is Arabidopsis thaliana, the first plant species to have its genome sequenced. Natural genetic variation is reviewed for A. thaliana, as are the genetics of the closely related A. lyrata and of the genus Capsella. Self incompatibility is widespread in the Brassicaceae, and this subject is reviewed. Interest arising from both the commercial value of crop species of the Brassicaceae and the importance of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model species, has led to the development of numerous resources to support research. These are reviewed, including germplasm and genomic library resources, and resources for reverse genetics, metabolomics, bioinformatics and transformation. Molecular studies of the genomes of species of the Brassicaceae revealed extensive genome duplication, indicative of multiple polyploidy events during evolution. In some species, such as Brassica napus, there is evidence of multiple rounds of polyploidy during its relatively recent evolution, thus the Brassicaceae represent an excellent model system for the study of the impacts of polyploidy and the subsequent process of diploidisation, whereby the genome stabilises. Sequence-level characterization of the genomes of Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica rapa are presented, along with summaries of comparative studies conducted at both linkage map and sequence level, and analysis of the structural and functional evolution of resynthesised polyploids, along with a description of the phylogeny and karyotype evolution of the Brassicaceae. Finally, some perspectives of the editors are presented. These focus upon the Brassicaceae species as models for studying genome evolution following polyploidy, the impact of advances in genome sequencing technology, prospects for future transcriptome analysis and upcoming model systems.

In contrast to books on specific bioactive compounds, this book deals with the role of mevalonic acid metabolites (isoprenoids and their derived structures) in metabolism, development, and functions of organisms, which, though diverse, show various levels of communication. Different disciplines are brought together in a discussion of the messenger functions of terpenoids within and between organisms belonging to five biological kingdoms: bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, and vertebrates (including humans). The present volume covers evolutionary aspects of terpenoids in plant physiology, plant-insect relationships, semiochemicals, and in life sciences, with special emphasis on cancer research and treatment. The book provides proposals for multidisciplinary model systems for the study of interrelationships of organisms utilizing terpenoid messengers, and discusses novel strategies for insect control and multifactor treatments of cancer utilizing terpenoids. This book is of interest to scientists, and students at an advanced level: biologists, plant breeders, pharmacologists, specialists in medical fields, especially oncologists, physicians in general, and anyone with a basic biochemical and physiological knowledge.

In a field of mature bananas, plants can be seen at all stages of vegetative growth and fruit maturity, providing a fascination for anyone who has an interest in growing crops. Banana farmers in the tropics can harvest fruit every day of the year. The absence of seasonality in production is an advantage, in that it provides a continuity of carbohydrate to meet dietary needs as well as a regular source of income, a feature that perhaps has been under-estimated by rural planners and agricultural strategists. The burgeoning interest in bananas in the last 20 years results from the belated realization that Musa is an under-exploited genus, notwithstanding the fact that one genetically narrow group, the Cavendish cultivars, supply a major export commodity second only to citrus in terms of the world fruit trade. International research interest in the diversity of fruit types has been slow to develop, presumably because bananas and plantains have hitherto been regarded as a reliable backyard source of dessert fruit or starch supplying the needs of the household, and in this situation relatively untroubled by pests, diseases or agronomic problems.

Stalking the Wild Sweetgrass: Domestication and Horticulture of the Grass Used in African-American Coiled Basketry is concerned with the historical domestication of sweetgrass, the main construction/structural grass used in the three century old African-American tradition of coiled basketry in South Carolina. During the plantation era in southern agriculture, sweetgrass baskets were made for post-harvest processing and storage of rice by enslaved Africans from Lower Cape Fear, North Carolina to northern Florida. Enslaved Africans from the Rice Kingdom in Africa were prized for the basketry and rice agronomic skills and were specially sought by slavery traders. Today, this ancient craft still thrives in the community of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Authored by one of the most renowned experts in the field and filled with illuminating color photographs, this volume provides knowledge of the horticulture of an extremely important wild plant and an example of the perils of plant- and people-based research and experimentation. As one of the few authoritative texts on the subject, Stalking the Wild Sweetgrass: Domestication and Horticulture of the Grass Used in African-American Coiled Basketry is a resourceful volume on wild sweetgrass, suitable for researchers and students alike.

In recent years, the study of the plant cell cycle has become of major interest, not only to scientists working on cell division sensu strictu , but also to scientists dealing with plant hormones, development and environmental effects on growth. The book The Plant Cell Cycle is a very timely contribution to this exploding field. Outstanding contributors reviewed, not only knowledge on the most important classes of cell cycle regulators, but also summarized the various processes in which cell cycle control plays a pivotal role. The central role of the cell cycle makes this book an absolute must for plant molecular biologists.

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) is a seemingly ubiquitous enzyme of profound physiological importance, which plays essential roles in respiration, acid-base homeostasis, bone resorption, calcification, photosynthesis, several biosynthetic pathways and a variety of processes involving ion, gas and fluid transfer. This enzyme, which is present in at least three gene families (a, ss, ?), has found favour as a model for the study of evolution of gene families and for site-directed mutagenesis in structure/function relationships, for protein folding and for transgenic and gene target studies. Since the early use of CA inhibitors as diuretics and in treating congestive heart failure, the enzyme has been target of considerable clinical attention. Much of this is now focused on endeavours to produce a new generation of such drugs for the effective treatment of glaucoma and other potential applications. Recent data, suggesting links between CA and various disease processes, including cancer, have stimulated further...