Advances in Plant Physiology, Vol. VIII

Contents: Preface. I. Physiological and Molecular Advances in Environmental Stresses: 1. Physiological and molecular implications of salicylic acid in plants under environmental stresses/A. Hemantaranjan. 2. The physiology of somatic embryo induction -- a stressful start/A. Feher and K. Otvos. 3. Phenolic compounds in plant cuticles: physiological and ecological aspects/G. Karabourniotis and G. Liakopoulos. 4. Cold acclimation in plants/Sheela Agarwal. 5. Low temperature tolerance in crop plants: strategies for crop improvement/Arunava Pattanayak and Jiban Mitra. 6. Rhizobium -- legume symbiosis under salt stress: effects, adaptations and amelioration/Neera Garg, Anu and Vini Arora. 7. Plant peroxidases -- a brief note on response to metal pollutants/Kavita Shah. II. Plant Signaling Molecules-pathways and Mechanisms: 8. Signaling through RHO-type GTPases in plants/A. Szucs, D. Dorjgotov and A. Feher. 9. Cross talk for rapid communication in plants through electrical signaling/Neeti Sanan Mishra, Sudir K. Sopory and Narendra Tuteja. 10. Nitrogen signaling in higher plants/Ann Ying Chiao and Hon-Ming Lam. 11. Auxin as a positional and patterning molecule essential for embryo development in plants/Christiane Fischer-Iglesias and Nicole Rober-Kleber. III. Molecular Physiology and Biotechnology: 12. Achene proteins in jelly fig (Ficus awakeotasang) and their potential biotechnological application/Miki M.C. Wang and Jason T.C. Tzen. 13. Seed storage proteins: structure, properties and approaches for improvement by genetic engineering/N.K. Chrungoo, Sangeeta Bharali and Cressida Jamir. 14. Current advances in Agrobacterium -- plant interactions and their implications on agricultural biotechnology/Ajith Anand and Kirankumar S. Mysore. 15. Sclerotinia disease and engineered resistance in oilseed crops/Xu Hu and Guihua Lu. IV. Plant Secondary Metabolite: 16. Terpenoid metabolism in cotton (Gossypium spp.) and qinghao (Artemisia annua)/Shan Lu and Xiao-Ya Chen. V. Plant Defense Mechanism and Metabolism: 17. Role of a non-protein tripeptide, glutathione in plant metabolism/Saroj Dua and Praveen Dobhal. 18. Cadmium interaction with thiols and photosynthesis in higher plants/F. Pietrini, M.A. Iannelli, R. Montanari, D. Bianconi and A. Massacci. VI. Physiological Basis of Yield: 19. Physiological approaches for enhancing yield potential in legumes/A. Bhattacharya, Vijayalaxmi and J.D.S. Panwar. VII. Physiology of Horticultural Plants: 20. Role of calcium in the physiology of horticultural plants/S.P. Singh, Lalit Bhatt, N.V. Singh and Ritu Jha. VIII. Techniques in Plant Physiology: 21. Applications of vibrational spectroscopy to the investigation of plant material/Enrique J. Baran. Index. Contents of Previous Volume (1 to 7).

"The publication of Volume 8 of the International Treatise Series on Advances in Plant Physiology has been feasible - exclusively and unquestionably due to commendable contributions from world scientists of distinction in explicit fields. Within eight years, the treatise series has been instituted in the spirits and compassion of illustrious readers all through the world. The proficient International and National Co-ordinators have all along unified their views for the expediency of readers assisting them to speed up important research work in the field of Plant and Crop Physiology, Biochemistry and Plant Molecular Biology. In spite of handiness of quick accessibility of vast literature from internet, this treatise series in the field of life sciences has been realized over and above to be like a true guide, friend and philosopher, everlastingly enlightening the most hidden perceptible nerves of an individual worker, which is beyond the competence of mere web services. The Volume 8 is absolutely another one of its kinds for incorporation of most timely and important worthy reviews of diverse objectives contributed by forty four well-informed, admirable and documented scientists/stalwarts, of which twenty three participated from abroad. The original writing coming in bounteous journals of international repute covering new technologies and tools in plant science research have been pulled together in affirmative, prolific and supportive manner by specialists all over the globe. In this volume efforts have been made to fetch together twenty one indispensable review articles, duly evaluated by the respective consulting Editors of international stature from India, U.K., U.S.A., Argentina, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Israel, and  Morocco and rationally disturbed in eight sections.

Indeed, the treatise is wealth for interdisciplinary exchange of information. Apart from fulfilling need of this kind of exclusive edition in different volumes for research teams in molecular plant physiology and biochemistry in traditional and agricultural universities, institutes and research laboratories throughout the world, it would be extremely a constructive book and a voluminous reference material for acquiring advanced knowledge by post-graduate and Ph.D. scholars in response to the innovative courses in plant physiology, plant biochemistry, plant molecular biology, plant biotechnology, environmental sciences, plant pathology, microbiology, soil science and agricultural chemistry, agronomy, horticulture, and botany."