Seaweeds, also known as macroalgae, are among the most important primary producers and act as ecological engineers on rocky coasts of the world's oceans. In addition to their extreme ecological importance they are also of high economic relevance. Complementing available textbooks with its more research-oriented approach, this volume contains 22 chapters by renowned experts, grouped in five parts. In Part I fundamental processes and acclimation strategies of seaweeds towards the abiotic environment are covered. Part II focuses on the multitude of biotic interactions in seaweed communities, and in Part III the reader is introduced to the structure and function of the main seaweed systems of the world. The chapters of Part IV highlight and discuss the effects of global and local environmental changes on seaweeds and their communities. In the final Part V a comprehensive overview of developments in seaweed aquaculture, industrial applications and the overall economic importance of seaweeds is provided. Summarizing the advances in seaweed biology achieved within the last few decades, this book also identifies gaps in the present knowledge and needs for future research.

Phytoremediation is an emerging technology that employs higher plants for the clean-up of contaminated environments. Basic and applied research have unequivocally demonstrated that selected plant species possess the genetic potential to accumulate, degrade, metabolize and immobilize a wide range of contaminants. The main focus of this volume is on the recent advances of technologies using green plants for remediation of various metals and metalloids. Topics include biomonitoring of heavy metal pollution, amendments of higher uptake of toxic metals, transport of heavy metals in plants, and toxicity mechanisms. Further chapters discuss agro-technological methods for minimizing pollution while improving soil quality, transgenic approaches to heavy metal remediation and present protocols for metal remediation via in vitro root cultures.

Recherches Chimiques sur la Vegetation was a seminal work in the development of the understanding of photosythesis and plant chemistry. The original publication, which was the first concise summation of the basics of plant nutrition, was a landmark in plant science. It was twice translated into German during the nineteenth century, but no English translation has been published. This translation will interest those in the plant, chemical, agricultural, and soil sciences, and the history of science, who find English more accessible than French or German and who wish to learn more about the early research on photosynthesis and plant science. A further note about the translation: This project is more than just a translation because it includes an extensive introduction as well as notes that provide explanations for archaic terminology and other background material. In the twentieth century, eminent photosynthesis researcher Eugene Rabinowitch described Recherches Chimiques sur la Vegetation as the first modern book on plant nutrition. Historian of chemistry Henry Leicester called the book a classic, noting that the first important generalization about biochemistry in the nineteenth century came from it. Plant physiologist P. E. Pilet stated that the book laid the foundations of a new science, phytochemistry. Soil scientist E. Walter Russell attributed to de Saussure the quantitative experimental method, which more than anything else made modern agricultural chemistry possible. Chemist Leonard K. Nash stated that de Saussure brought the studies of plant nutrition begun by Priestley, Ingen-Housz, and Senebier close to completion, finishing the basic experimental work and providing a convincing theoretical interpretation of the field, and also opened up new vistas of experiment and thought. In the two centuries since Recherches Chimiques sur la Vegetation was published, luminaries in various branches of science, including plant biology, chemistry, and soil science, have consistently praised it highly. In the nineteenth century, noted botanist Alphonse de Candolle and equally noted plant physiologist Julius von Sachs expressed great admiration for it. Although de Saussure's ideas were forgotten for a time, famed chemist Justus von Liebig, who invented artificial fertilizer, rediscovered them in the 1840s and brought them to the attention of the agricultural community, stressing their importance for increasing crop yields.

Abiotic stresses such as high temperature, low-temperature, drought, and salinity limit crop productivity worldwide. Understanding plant responses to these stresses is essential for rational engineering of crop plants. In Arabidopsis, the signal transduction pathways for abiotic stresses, light, several phytohormones and pathogenesis have been elucidated. A significant portion of plant genomes (most studies are Arabidopsis and rice genome) encodes for proteins involves in signaling such as receptor, sensors, kinases, phosphatases, transcription factors and transporters/channels. Despite decades of physiological and molecular effort, knowledge pertaining to how plants sense and transduce low and high temperature, low-water availability (drought), water-submergence and salinity signals is still a major question before plant biologists. One major constraint hampering our understanding of these signal transduction processes in plants has been the lack or slow pace of application of molecular genomic and genetics knowledge in the form of gene function. In the post-genomic era, one of the major challenges is investigation and understanding of multiple genes and gene families regulating a particular physiological and developmental aspect of plant life cycle. One of the important physiological processes is regulation of stress response, which leads to adaptation or adjustment in response to adverse stimuli. With the holistic understanding of the signaling pathways involving not only one gene family but multiple genes or gene families, plant biologists can lay a foundation for designing and generating future crops that can withstand the higher degree of environmental stresses (especially abiotic stresses, which are the major cause of crop loss throughout the world) without losing crop yield and productivity.

This book will shed light on the effect of salt stress on plants development, proteomics, genomics, genetic engineering, and plant adaptations, among other topics. Understanding the molecular basis will be helpful in developing selection strategies for improving salinity tolerance. The book will cover around 25 chapters with contributors from all over the world.

"The path of carbon in photosynthesis"for Progress in Botany: 50 years of Calvin-Benson cycle - 30 years of Kelly-Latzko reviews While writing this Foreword and trying to focus my thoughts on the bioch- istry of photosynthesis, a handsome slim hardcover booklet of 104 pages bound in dark blue linen is in front of me on my desk: "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis" J. A. Bassham and M. Calvin,1957 I acquired it in the month of my oral Ph. D. -exams,April 1960,to get prepared with the Nobel-laureate's text. In 2004 in his last swan-song review for Progress in Botany Grahame J. Kelly celebrated "The Calvin cycle's golden jubilee"in an overview of 50 years of carbon flowing for the progress in botany. He had met Erwin Latzko in 1970 in another then foremost and now historic place of the biochemistry of photosynthesis, the laboratory of Martin Gibbs at Brandeis University, Massachusetts. Four years later Latzko and Kelly (1974) published their first joint review on photosynthetic carbon metabolism,starting off a long flow of articles on the flow of carbon in the series Progress in Botany. Most faithfully they produced regular accounts of the progress in Progress in Botany every second year, and when Erwin Latzko decided to retire after the 1996 review Grahame Kelly carried on alone.

Plant Nutrition - From Genetic Engineering to Field Practice, the 12th International Colloquium on Plant Nutrition, is the latest in a series which began in 1954. Early meetings were mainly concerned with the practical problems of soil fertility, with soil assessment, fertilizer requirements and methods of analysis. As the colloquia have progressed, the emphasis has slowly changed. The practical problems are still important, but there is increasing emphasis on plant physiology, plant biochemistry, membrane biochemistry, and even on the chemistry of genes which control the proteins which transfer nutrient ions to the inside of cells. The meetings therefore provide a valuable opportunity for each half of the science of plant nutrition to interact with, and learn from the other half. This volume begins with five papers which review current knowledge in important fields: the rhizosphere, molecular biology, electron microscopy, location and function of elements in vivo, and modelling nutrient responses in the field. These themes are continued in groups of shorter papers which follow. In addition, there are sections on nutrient dynamics and partitioning, diagnostic techniques, plant survival strategies, mycorrhizas, and on nutrients such as P, N, S, K, Ca, Mg, and micronutrients. A large section is devoted specifically to boron - reflecting the considerable current interest in this element. In total there are 177 refereed papers providing both a broad overview and a detailed picture of the latest developments in pure and applied plant nutrition.

In the last half century, because of the raising world population and because of the many environmental issues posed by the industrialization, the amount of arable land per person has declined from 0.32 ha in 1961-1963 to 0.21 ha in 1997-1999 and is expected to drop further to 0.16 ha by 2030 and therefore is a severe menace to food security (FAO 2006). At the same time, about 12 million ha of irrigated land in the developing world has lost its productivity due to waterlogging and salinity. Waterlogging is a major problem for plant cultivation in many regions of the world. The reasons are in part due to climatic change that leads to the increased number of precipitations of great intensity, in part to land degradation. Considering India alone, the total area suffering from waterlogging is estimated to be about 3.3 million ha (Bhattacharya 1992), the major causes of waterlogging include super- ous irrigation supplies, seepage losses from canal, impeded sub-surface drainage, and lack of proper land development. In addition, many irrigated areas are s- jected to yield decline because of waterlogging due to inadequate drainage systems. Worldwide, it has been estimated that at least one-tenth of the irrigated cropland suffers from waterlogging.

This book presents a holistic view of the complex and dynamic responses of plants to nanoparticles, the signal transduction mechanisms involved, and the regulation of gene expression. Further, it addresses the phytosynthesis of nanoparticles, the role of nanoparticles in the antioxidant systems of plants and agriculture, the beneficial and harmful effects of nanoparticles on plants, and the application of nanoparticles and nanotubes to mass spectrometry, aiming ultimately at an analysis of the metabolomics of plants. The growing numbers of inventions in the field of nanotechnology are producing novel applications in the fields of biotechnology and agriculture. Nanoparticles have received much attention because of the unique physico-chemical properties of these compounds. In the life sciences, nanoparticles are used as "smart" delivery systems, prompting the Nobel Prize winner P. Ehrlich to refer to these compounds as "magic bullets." Nanoparticles also play an important role in agriculture as compound fertilizers and nano-pesticides, acting as chemical delivery agents that target molecules to specific cellular organelles in plants. The influence of nanoparticles on plant growth and development, however, remains to be investigated. Lastly, this book reveals the research gaps that must be bridged in the years to come in order to achieve larger goals concerning the applications of nanotechnology in the plants sciences. In the 21st century, nanotechnology has become a rapidly emerging branch of science. In the world of physical sciences, nanotechnological tools have been exploited for a broad range of applications. In recent years, nanoparticles have also proven useful in several branches of the life sciences. In particular, nanotechnology has been employed in drug delivery and related applications in medicine.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the multiple strategies that plants have developed to cope with drought, one of the most severe environmental stresses. Experts in the field present 17 chapters, each of which focuses on a basic concept as well as the latest findings. The following major aspects are covered in the book: * Morphological and anatomical adaptations * Physiological responses * Biochemical and molecular responses * Ecophysiological responses * Responses to drought under field conditions The contributions will serve as an invaluable source of information for researchers and advanced students in the fields of plant sciences, agriculture, ecophysiology, biochemistry and molecular biology.

The purpose of this publication is to elucidate the biological aspect of the abiotic stress response from the field to the molecular level in horticultural plants. This book is unique in that it concerns the basic aspect of abiotic stress biology and research progress at the molecular level in model plants or major field crops, as it focuses mainly on the abiotic stress response in existing horticultural plants. Many readers interested in plant abiotic stress biology are aware of the application of the latest findings to agricultural production, and this book will have a special appeal for those readers. The book will be of interest to scientists and graduate students who are involved in the research, development, production, processing, and marketing of horticultural products, including those in developing countries who are interested in high tech and advanced science in this field. The application of the latest findings to agricultural production is particularly useful. Stress tolerance mechanisms in horticultural crops are gaining importance, because most agricultural regions are predicted to experience considerably more extreme environmental fluctuations due to global climate change. Further, because of recent progress in next-generation sequencing technologies, the postgenomic era is impending not only in model plants and major cereal crops but also in horticultural crops, which comprise a great diversity of species. This book provides information on the physiological aspects of the abiotic stress response in horticultural plants, which is considered essential for postgenomic research.

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.

Plants use resources, i.e. carbon, nutrients, water and energy, either for growth or to defend themselves from biotic and abiotic stresses. This volume provides a timely understanding of resource allocation and its regulation in plants, linking the molecular with biochemical and physiological-level processes. Ecological scenarios covered include competitors, pathogens, herbivores, mycorrhizae, soil microorganisms, carbon dioxide/ozone regimes, nitrogen and light availabilities. The validity of the "Growth-Differentiation Balance Hypothesis" is examined and novel theoretical concepts and approaches to modelling plant resource allocation are discussed. The results presented can be applied in plant breeding and engineering, as well as in resource-efficient stand management in agriculture and forestry.

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.

The entire range of the developmental processes in plants is regulated by a shift in the hormonal concentration, tissue sensitivity and their interaction with the factors operating around them. Out of the recognized hormones, attention has largely been focused on five - Auxins, Gibberellins, Cytokinin, Abscisic acid and Ethylene. However, the information about the most recent group of phytohormone (Brassinosteroids) has been incorporated in this book. This volume includes a selection of newly written, integrated, illustrated reviews describing our knowledge of Brassinosteroids and aims to describe them at the present time. Various chapters incorporate both theoretical and practical aspects and may serve as baseline information for future researches through which significant developments are possible. This book will be useful to the students, teachers and researchers, both in universities and research institutes, especially in relation to biological and agricultural sciences.

Completing the primary genomic sequence of Arabidopsis thaliana was a major milestone, being the first plant genome and well established as the premiere model species in plant biology. Since working drafts of rice (Oryza sativa L.) genome became available (Yu et al. 2002), it has become the s- ond-best model organism in plants representing monocotyledons. Understanding how the genome sequence comprehensively encodes de- lopmental programs and environmental responses is the next major ch- lenge for all plant genome projects. This requires functional characterization of genes, including identification of regulatory sequences. Several functional genomics approaches were initiated to decode the linear sequence of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, including full-length cDNA collections, microarrays, natural variation, knockout collections, and comparative sequence analysis (Borevitz and Ecker 2004). Genomics provides the ess- tial tools to speed up the research work of the traditional molecular gene- cist, and is now a scientific discipline in its own right (Borevitz and Ecker 2004).

The book is designed to provide a review on the methods and current status of conservation of the tropical plant species. It will also provide the information on the richness of the tropical plant diversity, the need to conserve, and the potential utilization of the genetic resources. Future perspectives of conservation of tropical species will be discussed. Besides being useful to researchers and graduate students in the field, we hope to create a reference for a much wider audience who are interested in conservation of tropical plant diversity.

Plant-based medicines play an important role in all cultures, and have been indispensable in maintaining health and combating diseases. The identification of active principles and their molecular targets from traditional medicine provides an enormous opportunity for drug development. Using modern biotechnology, plants with specific chemical compositions can be mass propagated and genetically improved for the extraction of bulk active pharmaceuticals. Although there has been significant progress in the use of biotechnology, using tissue cultures and genetic transformation to investigate and alter pathways for the biosynthesis of target metabolites, there are many challenges involved in bringing plants from the laboratory to successful commercial cultivation. This book presents the latest advances in the development of medicinal drugs, including topics such as plant tissue cultures, secondary metabolite production, metabolomics, metabolic engineering, bioinformatics and future biotechnological directions.

This book reviews the current state of information on reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and their role in cell communication during plant growth, development and adaptation to stress conditions. It addresses current research advances made in the area of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) signaling. These free radical molecules are important in plant-microbe interactions, responses to abiotic stress, stomatal regulation and a range of developmental processes. Due to their short half-life, high diffusion capability and ability to react with different components in the cell, ROS and RNS participate in various processes connected with signaling and communication in plants. The book's respective chapters address the latest advances made in the niche area of ROS and RNS in plants. It offers a valuable guide for researchers and students alike, providing insights into cutting-edge free radical research. The information on specialized topics presented is also highly relevant for applied fields such as food security, agricultural practices and medicinal use of plants.

This volume is a compilation of extended abstracts of all papers presented at the 14th International Plant Nutrition Colloquium. Over 500 oral and poster presentations illustrate current knowledge and research emphasis in this subject, providing a comprehensive view of the state of plant nutrition research.

Exactly 35 years after the first Colloquium was held, the Eleventh International Plant Nutrition Colloquium took place from 30 July to 4 August 1989 in Wageningen, The Netherlands. Although impressive progress has been made during the past decades in our understanding of the mechanisms of uptake, distribution and assimilation of nutrients in relation to crop yield and quality, there are still significant gaps in our insight into many fundamental aspects of plant mineral nutrition and related metabolic processes. In spite of improved knowledge of nutrient requirements of crops and improved fertilizer application strategies, the world population remains to be burdened with an enormous shortage of plant products for food, timber, fuel, shelter, and other purposes. The main challenge facing the plant nutrition research community is to at least alleviate the increasing world-wide need for applying scientific knowledge to practical problems in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. It is therefore felt by many scientists that the Plant Nutrition Colloquia, which are intended to bring together scientists and to integrate knowledge and approaches acquired in plant physiology, biochemis try, soil science, agronomy and related disciplines, have indeed made a significant contribution to the advancement of our knowledge and understanding in this vital and interdisciplinary field of agrobiology. About 260 scientists from 40 nations attended the Colloquium in Wageningen.

Research and publications on the potato crop have burgeoned since the first edition of this book was published in 1978. However, the warm reception of the first edition suggested that it had a useful part to play in promoting the scientific basis for understanding and improving the yield and quality of the crop. Since the first edition was out of print and a second reprint would not have taken into account the contributions made by research over the intervening years, it became obvious that a complete revision was necessary. There was, in particular, a need to take account of the rapid extension of interest in the crop into climates and farming systems with which it has not been traditionally associa,ted. Those involved with the crop will be sadly aware that a number of contributors to the first edition are no longer with us. Their contribution to our knowledge of the crop will however be a permanent legacy of their achievement. I would like to thank all those who have contributed to the book for their willingness to cooperate in the difficult task of bringing their particular subject up to date. This is even more noteworthy for the pressure of time appears to be almost an order of magnitude higher than it was when the first edition was tackled.

Nutrient Use Efficiency in Plants: Concepts and Approaches is the ninth volume in the Plant Ecophysiology series. It presents a broad overview of topics related to improvement of nutrient use efficiency of crops. Nutrient use efficiency (NUE) is a measure of how well plants use the available mineral nutrients. It can be defined as yield (biomass) per unit input (fertilizer, nutrient content). NUE is a complex trait: it depends on the ability to take up the nutrients from the soil, but also on transport, storage, mobilization, usage within the plant, and even on the environment. NUE is of particular interest as a major target for crop improvement. Improvement of NUE is an essential pre-requisite for expansion of crop production into marginal lands with low nutrient availability but also a way to reduce use of inorganic fertilizer.

Somatic embryogenesis, the initiation of embryos from previously differentiated somatic cells, is a unique process in plants. This volume expands our view of a subject that is important for plant biotechnology, genetics, cell biology, development, and agricultural applications. All chapters present the latest research progress, including functional genomic, genetic, and proteomic approaches. A special focus is placed on the effects of stress, environment, and plant growth regulators on embryogenesis. The role of genes such as Leafy Cotyledons and Baby Boom in defining and maintaining cell competence is discussed.

G proteins are the key regulators for a wide range of cellular processes in animals and plants. In comparison to animals and yeast, plants have a single Rho-GTPase subfamily called Rho-like GTPases (ROPs). The ROP family of monomeric GTPases has emerged as a versatile and key regulator in plant signal transduction processes. During the past few years' studies on plant RHO-type (ROP) GTPase have generated new insights into their role in diverse processes ranging from cytoskeletal organization, polar growth, development to stress and hormonal responses. Studies have shown that plants have evolved specific regulators and effector molecules. ROP GTPases possess the ability to interact with these multiple regulator and effector molecules that ultimately determines their signaling specificity. Recently, genome wide studies in plants have shown that the Arabidopsis genome encodes 93, and rice has nearly 85 small GTPase homologs. And we have been able to identify four new homologs in the rice genome. Here, we focus on the complete phylogenetic, domain, structural and expression analysis during stress and various developmental processes of small GTPases in plants. The comparison of gene expression patterns of the individual members of the GTPase family may help to reveal potential plant specific signaling mechanisms and their relevance. Also, we are summarizing the role of currently known ROP GTPases and their interacting proteins with brief description, simultaneously, comparing their expression pattern based on microarray data. Overall, we will be discussing the functional genomic perspective of plant Rho like GTPases and their role in regulating several physiological processes such as stress, hormonal, pollen tube, root hair-growth and other developmental responses.