Signaling In Plants

This is the first comprehensive monograph on all emerging topics in plant signaling. The book addresses diverse aspects of signaling at all levels of plant organization. Emphasis is placed on the integrative aspects of signaling.

Plant Hormones: Biosynthesis and Mechanisms of Action is based on research funded by the Chinese government’s National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). This book brings a fresh understanding of hormone biology, particularly molecular mechanisms driving plant hormone actions. With growing understanding of hormone biology comes new outlooks on how mankind values and utilizes the built-in potential of plants for improvement of crops in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. This book is a comprehensive description of all major plant hormones: how they are synthesized and catabolized; how they are perceived by plant cells; how they trigger signal transduction; how they regulate gene expression; how they regulate plant growth, development and defense responses; and how we measure plant hormones. This is an exciting time for researchers interested in plant hormones. Plants rely on a diverse set of small molecule hormones to regulate every aspect of their biological processes including development, growth, and adaptation. Since the discovery of the first plant hormone auxin, hormones have always been the frontiers of plant biology. Although the physiological functions of most plant hormones have been studied for decades, the last 15 to 20 years have seen a dramatic progress in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of hormone actions. The publication of the whole genome sequences of the model systems of Arabidopsis and rice, together with the advent of multidisciplinary approaches has opened the door to successful experimentation on plant hormone actions. Offers a comprehensive description of all major plant hormones including the recently discovered strigolactones and several peptide hormones Contains a chapter describing how plant hormones regulate stem cells Offers a fresh understanding of hormone biology, particularly molecular mechanisms driving plant hormone actions Discusses the built-in potential of plants for improvement of crops in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner

Plant Signaling Molecule: Role and Regulation under Stressful Environments explores tolerance mechanisms mediated by signaling molecules in plants for achieving sustainability under changing environmental conditions. Including a wide range of potential molecules, from primary to secondary metabolites, the book presents the status and future prospects of the role and regulation of signaling molecules at physiological, biochemical, molecular and structural level under abiotic stress tolerance. This book is designed to enhance the mechanistic understanding of signaling molecules and will be an important resource for plant biologists in developing stress tolerant crops to achieve sustainability under changing environmental conditions. Focuses on plant biology under stress conditions Provides a compendium of knowledge related to plant adaptation, physiology, biochemistry and molecular responses Identifies treatments that enhance plant tolerance to abiotic stresses Illustrates specific physiological pathways that are considered key points for plant adaptation or tolerance to abiotic stresses

An understanding of the mechanisms by which plants perceive environmental cues, both physical and chemical, and transduce the signals that influence specific expression of genes, is an area of intensive scientific research. With the completion of the genome sequence of Arabidopsis it is understood now that a larger number of genes encode for proteins involved in signalling cascades and transcription factors. In this volume, different chapters deal with plant receptors, second messengers like calcium ions, phosphoinositides, salicylic acid and nitrous oxide, calcium binding proteins and kinases. In addition to dealing with the response of plants to light, hormones, pathogens, heat, etc. on cellular activity, work currently going on in apoptosis, cell division, and plastid gene expression is also covered in this book.

Increasing interest has been emerging in the last decade in the field of signal recognition and transduction. This is particularly true for animal systems where an impressive amount of literature is appearing and where many important pathways have been clarified at a molecular level. In the elucidation of the functions of single components of a given pathway, gene cloning has played a major role and opened the field to the genetic engineering of these complex systems. At variance with this situation, plant systems are less well elucidated, even if in recent years exciting research of developments have been initiated especially with the view toward the most promising role plants in biotechnology. Recent studies have elucidated some of the events involved in the perception of the plant hormone signals and some steps concerning its transduction. Only for three of the five hormones in plants, namely auxin, ethylene and cytokinins, have specific receptors been isolated. The use of classical molecular approaches, together with the more recently isolated mutants, have produced crucial information on receptors and shed light on possible transduction pathways. As in the case of red light, more than one pathway can be triggered by one specific signal. Many systems involved in animal signaling are now shown to be present also in plants, and in view of the fast progress in this area, it will be possible in the near future to fully describe the content of the "black boxes" in the reaction chain specifically triggered by a signal.

Plants have evolved with a complex array of signaling molecules to facilitate their growth and development and their interactions with the environment. A vast number of different peptide molecules form an important but until recently often overlooked component amongst these signaling molecules. Plant peptide signals are involved in regulating meristem growth and organogenesis, modulating plant growth and homeostatic responses. They also have important roles as signals of imminent danger or pathogen attack. This volume focuses on the roles of various peptide signaling molecules in development, defence and homeostasis. As it is likely that further plant peptide signaling molecules remain to be discovered, the last section takes a practical look at methods to identify new peptides and characterise their functions.

The growth and differentiation of living organisms are continuously adjusted to a multitude of environmental factors, each of which underlies a perpetual variation. The sessile existence of plants further emphasizes the requirement for efficient adaptation and defence mechanisms. The changes in environmental factors may range from moderate to dramatic and can concern many components at the same time. They may be abiotic or biotic in nature and range from essential to toxic in their effects. Among the numerous abiotic factors are nutrients, light, oxygen, water, temperature, gravity, wind, touch and chemicals. Biotic factors are represented by other organisms involved in symbiotic, pathogenic or herbivorous interactions with plants. All of these environmental factors are independently and specifically recognized by plants. Perception and overall response are linked by signal transduction pathways at cellular, systemic and interorganismic levels. In order to guarantee proper adaptation to the environment, signals generated following perception of a multitude of environmental factors need to be integrated and evaluated according to their importance. Cross-talk between different signaling pathways within such networks appears to be the basis for the evaluation of the importance of incoming signals. Knowledge of these complex processes allows a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptation. Modulation of distinct signaling elements can generate plants with improved stress resistance. This book represents a comprehensive summary of the enormous amount of information that is now available on signal transduction processes involved in the communication of plants with abiotic and biotic elements of their environment.