Contents: Preface. I. General overview on the development of trace element research/Istvan Pais: 1. Introduction. 2. Criteria of essentiality and beneficiality. 3. Criteria of toxicity. 4. The importance of trace elements in environment. 5. Interrelationships among different elements. 6. The concept of the interdisciplinary trace-element research. References. II. The importance of hardly known trace elements/Istvan Pais: 1. Introduction. 2. The physiological importance of titanium: i. Plant experiments: a. Light chamber experiments. b. Different field experiments. c. Different experiments with pigments and enzymes. ii. Animal experiments. iii. Effects of titanium on algae and yeast. 3. Beneficial effects of gallium. 4. Beneficial effects of zirconium. 5. Summary. References. III. Some insights in the determination of selenium in biological and environmental samples by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry/A. Javier Aller: 1. Introduction: i. Biological and environmental significance of selenium: ii. Monitoring of selenium status in living system. iii. Methods for determination of selenium. 2. Determination of selenium by GFAAS: i. Sample introduction into the atomizer. ii. Sample preparation. iii. Highlights in the determination of selenium by GFAAS: a. Calibration procedures. b. Factors affecting selenium atomization : interferences: 1. Atomization tube material. 2. Atomization type. 3. Ashing programme. 4. Matrix composition: Loss of analyte; Chemical interferences; Special interferences. c. Elimination of interferences: 1. Chemical modification. d. Peak profile characteristics and selenium atomization mechanisms. iv. Analytical characteristics and applications. 3. Conclusions. References. IV. Overview of the determination of beryllium in environmental and biological samples by atomic absorption and atomic emission spectrometries/A.J. Aller: 1. Introduction. 2. Handling of samples: i. Sample preparation. ii. Solid sampling. 3. Calibration methods. 4. Appraisal of the atomic methods for the determination of beryllium: i. Atomic absorption spectrometries: a. Instrumental and operating conditions. b. Interferences. c. Suppression of interferences. ii. Atomic emission spectrometries: a. General considerations. b. Interferences. 5. Analytical figures of merit. 6. Conclusions. References. V. Mineral requirements of the free-living and symbiotic cyanobacteria, with special reference to micronutrition, for raising laboratory cultures/A. Vaishampayan: 1. Introduction. 2. The nutrient media: i. Free-living cyanobacteria: a. Mo-W-Cr-V interactions. b. Fe-Cu interaction. c. Amino acid nutrition. ii. Lichens. iii. Liverworts and hornworts. iv. Azolla. v. Cycads and gunnera. 3. Cyanobacteria as a phototrophic component in artificial associations with plant cells. 4. Conclusions and future prospects. References. VI. Legume/rhizobial interactions within the legume root nodule : role of the plastid in metabolic reactions involving iron nutrition/James A. Guikema, William R. Odum, and Peter P. Wong: 1. Introduction. 2. Iron acquisition and storage: i. Compartmentation within the legume root nodule. ii. Iron storage. iii. Role of the bacteroid in iron partitioning. 3. Leghemoglobin biosynthesis: i. Role of the plastid in tetrapyrrole biosynthesis. ii. Studies with mutant rhizobial strains. iii. Studies on plant aminolevulinic acid. 4. Leghemoglobin oxidation and reduction: 1. Reduction of hemoglobins by enzymes. ii. Reduction of leghemoglobin by small molecules. 5. Summary. References. VII. Physiological and biochemical significance of zinc nutrition in plants/A. Hemantaranjan: 1. Introduction. 2. Zinc uptake mechanism and distribution in plants. 3. Zinc and plant metabolism: i. Zinc containing enzymes. ii. Tryptophan and indole acetic acid synthesis. iii. Functions of zinc in chloroplast: a. Chlorophyll and leaf senescence. b. Carbohydrate metabolism. iv. Protein synthesis. 4. Interactions with other nutrients: i. Zinc-phosphorus. ii. Zinc-nitrogen. iii. Zinc-iron. 5. Conclusions. References. VIII. Micronutrients--biochemical and physiological activities/Indravadan Chhelshankar Dave: 1. Introduction. 2. Bioinorganic aspects of micronutrients--a brief survey: i. Boron. ii. Copper. iii. Iron. iv. Manganese. v. Zinc. vi. Molybdenum. vii. Chloride. 3. Recent advancements in biochemical physiology of boron, copper, iron, manganese and zinc: i. Boron. ii. Copper. iii. Iron. iv. Manganese. v. Molybdenum. vi. Zinc. 4. Concluding remarks. References. IX. Physiology and biochemistry of micronutrient elements/S.C. Agarwala and Chitralekha Chatterjee: 1. Introduction. 2. Iron: 1. Chloroplast structure. ii. Uptake and translocation. iii. Role in metabolism. iv. Water relations. v. Growth substances. vi. Reproductive physiology. vii. Interaction of iron with other nutrients. 3. Manganese: i. Anatomical and histological effects. ii. Uptake and distribution. iii. Physiological and biochemical effects. iv. Reproductive physiology. v. Interaction of manganese with other elements. 4. Copper: i. Uptake, requirement and distribution. ii. Physiological and biochemical effects. iii. Interactions of copper with other nutrients. 5. Zinc: i. Uptake, distribution and requirements. ii. Carbohydrate metabolism. iii. Nitrogen metabolism. iv. Nucleic acids. v. Enzymes. vi. Photosynthesis. vii. Reproductive physiology. viii. Interaction of zinc with other elements. 6. Molybdenum: i. Enzymes. ii. Reproductive physiology. iii. Interaction of molybdenum with other elements. 7. Boron: i. Uptake and distribution. ii. Effect on water relation. iii. Physiological and biochemical effects. iv. Reproductive physiology. v. Interaction of boron with other elements. 8. Chlorine. 9. Cobalt. 10. Nickel. 11. Sodium. 12. Iodine. 13. Aluminum. 14. Silicon. 15. Vanadium. 16. Cadmium. References. X. Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae and micronutrient nutrition/Susan B. Persad-Chinnery and Louis E. Chinnery: 1. Introduction. 2. Boron. 3. Zinc. 4. Copper. 5. Manganese. 6. Molybdenum. 7. Conclusions. References. XI. Micronutrient stress and genetic variability/Indravadan Chhelshankar Dave: 1. Introduction. 2. Nutrient stress in crops and other plants. 3. Stress and genetic variability. 4. Current status of micronutrient stress and genetic variations in plants. 5. Conclusions. References. XII. Techniques in micronutrient research/S.C. Agarwala and Chitralekha Chatterjee: 1. Introduction. 2. Culture methods: i. Water (nutrient solution) and sand culture of plants. ii. Tissue culture of plants. 3.1. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry. 3.2. Inductively coupled plasma analyser. 4. Latent deficiency of micronutrients. 5. Physiological and biochemical methods for identifying of micronutrient deficiency in fields. 6. Spectrophotometry. 7. Microscopy. 8. Isolation and characterization of cellular macro-molecules. 9. Radioactive isotopes. 10. Enzyme studies. References. Index.

"The treatise Advancement in Micronutrient Research is a summary of important new findings on trace elements nutrition and interactions and of basic and applied needs in microelement nutrition. It also provides a useful perspective of important progress and fruitful research opportunities.

"For new workers in this field, a specialised book on micronutrient research consisting of manifold information and references has been realized to be extremely important to quickly learn above the total area of trace element nutrition including the hardly known trace elements and obtain help in a precise manner including genetic materials needed for research.

"A detailed account on various important techniques or methods have facilitated the discovery of new micronutrient elements and have helped in the elucidation of their role in different facets of plant metabolism.

"In the literature, preference has been given to more recent publications in addition to representative examples of classical contributions cited in various sections apart from a number of tables, graphs and figures." (jacket)

[A. Hemantaranjan is on the faculty of the Department of Plant Physiology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.]

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