Plant Nitrogen

Jointly published with INRA, Paris. This book covers all aspects of the transfer of nitrogen from the soil and air to a final resting place in the seed protein of a crop plant. It describes the physiological and molecular mechanisms of ammonium and nitrate transport and assimilation, including symbiotic nitrogen fixation by the Rhizobiacea. Amino acid metabolism and nitrogen traffic during plant growth and development and details of protein biosynthesis in the seeds are also extensively covered. Finally, the effects of the application of nitrogen fertilisers on plant growth, crop yield and the environment are discussed. Written by international experts in their field, Plant Nitrogen is essential reading for all plant biochemists, biotechnologists, molecular biologists and physiologists as well as plant breeders, agricultural engineers, agronomists and phytochemists.

Advances in Plant Nitrogen Metabolism is a thoughtful, provocative, and up-to-date volume that presents important physiological, biochemical, and molecular perspectives of the nitrogen metabolism in plants and regulatory networks underlying it. The book is an attempt to team up with global leading research experts working in the field of plant nitrogen metabolism to compile an up-to-date and wide-ranging volume. The main purpose of this book is to present information on the most recent developments including the different modern approaches and methodologies that are being currently employed in the field of plant nitrogen metabolism. We trust that this comprehensive volume will familiarize readers with the detailed mechanisms of nitrogen metabolism and its regulation and the current trends in this field of study. The book offers comprehensive coverage of the most essential topics, including: Role of nitrogen and its assimilation in plants Recycling and remobilization of nitrogen during senescence Role of phytohormones in nitrogen metabolism Biological nitrogen fixation Nitrogen biofertilizers: role in sustainable agriculture Effect of stress on plant nitrogen metabolism Reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in plants Nitrogen toxicity in plants, symptoms, and safeguards Nitrogen metabolism enzymes: structure, role, and regulation Regulatory RNAs and their role in nitrogen metabolism of diazotrophs As a pivotal contribution to the field, this volume is an invaluable and up-to-date foundation for plant physiologists, plant biochemists, geneticists, molecular biologists, agronomists, environmental researchers, and students of plant science. The book can also be used for the coursework of research and master's students.

A growing interest has been shown recently in the dymanics of nitrogen in agricultural and natural ecosystems. This has been caused by increasing demands for food and fibre by a rapidly expanding world population, and by a growing concern that increased land clearing, cultivation and use of both fertilizer and biologically fixed nitrogen can have detrimental effects on the environment. These include effects on water quality, eutrophication of surface waters and changes in atmospheric composition all caused by increased cycling of nitrogenous compounds. The input and availability of nitrogen frequently affects the productivity of farming systems more than any other single management factor, but often the nitrogen is used inefficiently. Much of the fertilizer nitrogen applied to the soil is not utilised by the crop: it is lost either in solution form, by leaching of nitrate, or in gaseous forms as ammonia, nitrous oxide, nitric oxide or dinitrogen. The leached nitrate can contaminate rivers and ground waters, while the emitted ammonia can contaminate surface waters or combine with atmospheric sulfur dioxide to form aerosols which affect visibility, health and climate. There is also concern that increased evolution of nitrous oxide will deplete the protective ozone layer of the stratosphere. The possibility of a link between the intensity of agricultural use of nitrogen, nitrous oxide emissions and amounts of stratospheric ozone has focussed attention on these interactions.

This text examines topics in nitrogen nutrition and plant growth including nutrition during seed germination and seedling formation, the physiology of nitrogen-fixing, and slow-release nitrogen fertilizers.

Forty years ago, when PLANT AND SOIL first appeared, Europe was still recovering from the devastating effects of World War II. During the war years, work in many centres of agricultural research had come to a virtual standstill. Buildings and equipment were destroyed, scientists were often forced to terminate their research and teaching activities and funds allocated to such work were diverted to other, at that time, more pressing needs. During the first post-war years reconstruction was undertaken with great zeal and in that light the founding of the new journal PLANT AND SOIL must be viewed. In the pre-war period most agricultural science journals were still primarily national ones and consequently many articles were published in languages mastered by only a limited number of potential readers. In small countries whose languages are not widely understood, the desire arose to publish research findings in one of the major languages. It is therefore understandable that in the early years of the journal's existence, large portions of PLANT AND SOIL were filled with articles from the Scandinavian countries and The Nether lands. Originally, rather frequent use was made of the opportunity to publish also in German and French, but with the advance of English as a major language of communication, a decline was noticeable in the number of German and French manuscripts submitted. As a consequence the Edi torial Board has recently decided to terminate the publishing of articles in these languages.

This book discusses the association that exists between plants and their most important dietary component, nitrogen. The author combines ecological, physiological and biochemical approaches to provide the reader with an overall view of nitrogen in the biosphere and a specific view of nitrogen processing in plants. The processes which make up the nitrogen cycle, including mineralization, immobilization by microbes and nitrification, are discussed and the losses and gains of combined nitrogen from and to the cycle. The part which plants play in this cycling, by their processing of inorganic nitrogen into compounds which are required by plants and animals alike, and the chemistry and production of those compounds, is also covered. Transport of nitrogen compounds within the plant, and the fate of these compounds, is discussed. The final chapter considers the part which humans play in the cycling of nitrogen, with special reference to the nitrogen fertilizers used in agriculture.

Presents a multidisciplinary analysis of the integration among reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), and reactive sulfur species (RSS). Since plants are the main source of our food, the improvement of their productivity is the most important task for plant biologists. In this book, leading experts accumulate the recent development in the research on oxidative stress and approaches to enhance antioxidant defense system in crop plants. They discuss both the plant responses to oxidative stress and mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance, and cover all of the recent approaches towards understanding oxidative stress in plants, providing comprehensive information about the topics. It also discusses how reactive nitrogen species and reactive sulfur species regulate plant physiology and plant tolerance to environmental stresses. Reactive Oxygen, Nitrogen and Sulfur Species in Plants: Production, Metabolism, Signaling and Defense Mechanisms covers everything readers need to know in four comprehensive sections. It starts by looking at reactive oxygen species metabolism and antioxidant defense. Next, it covers reactive nitrogen species metabolism and signaling before going on to reactive sulfur species metabolism and signaling. The book finishes with a section that looks at crosstalk among reactive oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur species based on current research done by experts. Presents the newest method for understanding oxidative stress in plants. Covers both the plant responses to oxidative stress and mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance Details the integration among reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive sulfur species (RSS) Written by 140 experts in the field of plant stress physiology, crop improvement, and genetic engineering Providing a comprehensive collection of up-to-date knowledge spanning from biosynthesis and metabolism to signaling pathways implicated in the involvement of RONSS to plant defense mechanisms, Reactive Oxygen, Nitrogen and Sulfur Species in Plants: Production, Metabolism, Signaling and Defense Mechanisms is an excellent book for plant breeders, molecular biologists, and plant physiologists, as well as a guide for students in the field of Plant Science.