About the book

Abiotic stresses caused by drought, salinity, toxic metals, temperature extremes, and nutrient poor soils are among the major constraints to plant growth and crop production worldwide. While crop breeding strategies to improve yields have progressed, a better understanding of the genetic and biological mechanisms underpinning stress adaptation is needed. Genes for Plant Abiotic Stress presents the latest research on recently examined genes and alleles and guides discussion of the genetic and physiological determinants that will be important for crop improvement in the future.

Contents:

Section 1 Genetic Determinants of Plant Adaptation under Water Stress 3

Chapter 1 Genetic Determinants of Stomatal Function 5
Song Li and Sarah M. Assmann

Chapter 2 Pathways and Genetic Determinants for Cell Wall–based Osmotic Stress Tolerance in the Arabidopsis thaliana Root System 35
Hisashi Koiwa

Chapter 3 Transcription and Signaling Factors in the Drought Response Regulatory Network 55
Matthew Geisler

Section 2 Genes for Crop Adaptation to Poor Soil 81

Chapter 4 Genetic Determinants of Salinity Tolerance in Crop Plants 83
Darren Plett, Bettina Berger, and Mark Tester

Chapter 5 Unraveling the Mechanisms Underlying Aluminum-dependent Root Growth Inhibition 113
Paul B. Larsen

Chapter 6 Genetic Determinants of Phosphate Use Effi ciency in Crops 143
Fulgencio Alatorre-Cobos, Damar López-Arredondo, and Luis Herrera-Estrella

Chapter 7 Genes for Use in Improving Nitrate Use Efficiency in Crops 167
David A. Lightfoot

Section 3 Genes for Plant Tolerance to Temperature Extremes 183

Chapter 8 Genes and Gene Regulation for Low-temperature Tolerance 185
Mantas Survila, Pekka Heino, and E. Tapio Palva

Chapter 9 Genetic Approaches toward Improving Heat Tolerance in Plants 221
Mamatha Hanumappa and Henry T. Nguyen

Section 4 Integrating Plant Abiotic Stress Responses 261

Chapter 10 Genetic Networks Underlying Plant Abiotic Stress Responses 263
Arjun Krishnan, Madana M.R. Ambavaram, Amal Harb, Utlwang Batlang, Peter E. Wittich, and Andy Pereira

Chapter 11 Discovering Genes for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants 281
Michael Popelka, Mitchell Tuinstra, and Clifford F. Weil