Nitrogen Acquisition and Assimilation in Higher Plants

Hardcover  XIII + 299 pp.  ISBN 1402027273      £110.00

Volume 3 in the series Plant Ecophysiology, nitrogen fertilisation. Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth. During the green revolution the increasing use of fertiliser was responsible for spectacular yield increases. At present yield is balanced with commitments towards the environment and sustainable agriculture. Further yield improvement is now dependent on selection and gene technologies. For such yield improvement using agro-biotechnology, based on improved accumulation of essential nitrogen compounds a comprehensive knowledge of how plants function is required. Research on the uptake, acquisition and assimilation of nitrogen, as well as the synthesis and storage of reserve and defence N-compounds is required.

This third volume in the Plant Ecophysiology series integrates functional and molecular physiology with ecophysiological and sustainable agricultural approaches to get a better understanding of the regulation and the impact of environmental and stress signals on nitrogen acquisition and assimilation. The book is of interest for advanced students and researchers and supplies comprehensive information for scientists working in the field of nitrogen metabolism and readers interested in sustainable development.

Contents

Contributors

Preface

• 1. Nitrate uptake by roots - transporters and root development; Bruno Touraine
• 2. Metabolic regulation of ammonium uptake and assimilation; Tomoyuki Yamaya and Ann Oaks
• 3. Atmospheric nitrogen - pollutant or fertiliser? Lucy J. Sheppard and Håkan Wallander
• 4. Symbiotic nitrogen fixation; Javier Ramos and Ton Bisseling
• 5. Nitrogen metabolism and plant adaptation to the environment - the scope for process-based modelling; Marcel van Oijen and Peter Levy
• 6. Light regulation of nitrate uptake, assimilation and metabolism; Cathrine Lillo
• 7. Modulation of nitrate reduction - environmental and internal factors involved; Werner M. Kaiser, Elisabeth Planchet, Maria Stoimenova and Matasoshi Sonoda
• 8. Integrated molecular analysis of the polyamine pathway in abiotic stress signalling; Alejandro Ferrando, Pedro Carrasco, Juan Cruz Cuevas, Teresa Altabella and Antonio F. Tiburcio
• 9. Significance of secondary nitrogen metabolites for food quality; Silvia Haneklaus and Ewald Schnug
• 10. Biotechnology of nitrogen acquisition in rice -implications for food security; Dev T. Britto and Herbert J. Kronzucker