Genes for Plants Abiotic Stress

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