Plants possess the ability to biosynthesize a large variety of steroids, but it was not until 1979 that a hormonal function was demonstrated in plants. Today, about 40 structurally and functionally related steroids, known as brassinosteroids, have been isolated from natural sources. Brassinosteroids demonstrate various kinds of regulatory activities in the growth and development of plants. This book is based on a 1990 Russian monograph, but includes all important subsequent literature and developments, including unpublished data from the authors' laboratories.BRASSINOSTEROIDS: A New Class of Plant Hormones covers: - Structures and classification - Isolation and spectroscopic determination - Biosynthesis and metabolism - Natural product synthesis - Physiological mode of action - Structure-activity relationships - Practical applications in agriculture

The entire range of the developmental processes in plants is regulated by a shift in the hormonal concentration, tissue sensitivity and their interaction with the factors operating around them. Out of the recognized hormones, attention has largely been focused on five - Auxins, Gibberellins, Cytokinin, Abscisic acid and Ethylene. However, the information about the most recent group of phytohormone (Brassinosteroids) has been incorporated in this book. This volume includes a selection of newly written, integrated, illustrated reviews describing our knowledge of Brassinosteroids and aims to describe them at the present time. Various chapters incorporate both theoretical and practical aspects and may serve as baseline information for future researches through which significant developments are possible. This book will be useful to the students, teachers and researchers, both in universities and research institutes, especially in relation to biological and agricultural sciences.

Brassinosteroids are plant-growth-promoting natural products similar in structure to animal and insect steroid hormones. Considered a new class of plant hormone, along with auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, abscisic acid, and ethylene, brassinosteroids are present throughout the plant kingdom. They show distinct physiological effects on plant growth including improvement of stress tolerance in crop production. These discoveries, together with advances in molecular and biosynthetic studies of brassinosteroids, open new aspects of research in understanding the growth and development of plants. This book presents a comprehensive view of the related chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, agricultural applications, and most recent research in molecular biology. Written by scientists who are active in these fields, Brassinosteroids is a vital source of information for plant and agricultural science researchers with an interest in plant hormones.

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

The entire range of the developmental process in plants is regulated by a shift in the hormonal concentration, tissue sensitivity and their interaction with the factors operating around the plants. Phytohormones play a crucial role in regulating the direction of plant in a coordinated fashion in association with metabolism that provides energy and the building blocks to generate the form that we recognize as a plant. Out of the recognized hormones, attention has largely been focused on Auxins, Gibberellins, Cytokinins, Abscisic acid, Ethylene and more recently on Brassinosteroids. In this book we are providing the information about a brassinosteroids that again confirm its status as phytohormones because it has significant impact on various aspects of the plant life and its ubiquitous distribution throughout the plant kingdom. Brassinosteroids are generating a significant impact on plant growth and development, photosynthesis, transpiration, ion uptake and transport, induces specific changes in leaf anatomy and chloroplast structure. This book is not an encyclopedia of reviews but includes a selected collection of newly written, integrated, illustrated reviews describing our knowledge of brassinosteroids. The aim of this book is to tell all about brassinosteroids, by the present time. The various chapters incorporate both theoretical and practical aspects and may serve as baseline information for future researches through which significant development is possible. It is intended that this book will be useful to the students, teachers and researchers, both in universities and research institutes, especially in relation to biological and agricultural sciences.

Brassinosteroids in Plant Developmental Biology and Stress Tolerance provides insights into understanding the mechanisms of Brassinosteroid-regulated plant developmental biology and stress tolerance covering various biochemical, physiological, genetic and molecular studies. As unprecedented climate change poses a serious threat to global food security by intensifying environmental stresses, studies reveal that Brassinosteroids (BRs) could not only protect plants from stresses to ensure food security, but could also reduce toxic compounds in edible plant parts for assuring food safety. Therefore, utilization of BRs in modern agriculture will be of great significance in the context of global climate change. This book also highlights key information for developing eco-friendly growth regulators and understanding the importance of brassinosteroids in safe food production. - Presents the multifaceted roles of brassinosteroids as phytohormones in plant growth, development and response to biotic and/or abiotic stresses - Unveils the physiological and molecular mechanisms controlling plant stress response to biotic and abiotic stress - Discusses developmental processes relating to environmental adaptations that are mediated by brassinosteroids - Brings together recent works of experts studying brassinosteroid crosstalk with other signals, including hormones, sugars, redox and light signals

A guide to the chemical agents that protect plants from various environmental stressors Protective Chemical Agents in the Amelioration of Plant Abiotic Stress offers a guide to the diverse chemical agents that have the potential to mitigate different forms of abiotic stresses in plants. Edited by two experts on the topic, the book explores the role of novel chemicals and shows how using such unique chemical agents can tackle the oxidative damages caused by environmental stresses. Exogenous application of different chemical agents or chemical priming of seeds presents opportunities for crop stress management. The use of chemical compounds as protective agents has been found to improve plant tolerance significantly in various crop and non-crop species against a range of different individually applied abiotic stresses by regulating the endogenous levels of the protective agents within plants. This important book: Explores the efficacy of various chemical agents to eliminate abiotic stress Offers a groundbreaking look at the topic and reviews the most recent advances in the field Includes information from noted authorities on the subject Promises to benefit agriculture under stress conditions at the ground level Written for researchers, academicians, and scientists, Protective Chemical Agents in the Amelioration of Plant Abiotic Stress details the wide range of protective chemical agents, their applications, and their intricate biochemical and molecular mechanism of action within the plant systems during adverse situations.

Biochemistry and Physiology oj Plant Hormones is intended primarily as a textbook or major reference for a one-term intermediate-level or advanced course dealing with hormonal regulation of growth and development of seed plants for students majoring in biology, botany, and applied botany fields such as agronomy, forestry, and horticulture. Additionally, it should be useful to others who wish to become familiar with the topic in relation to their principal student or professional interests in related fields. It is assumed that readers will have a background in fundamental biology, plant physiology, and biochemistry. The dominant objective of Biochemistry and Physiology oj Plant Hor mones is to summarize, in a reasonably balanced and comprehensive way, the current state of our fundamental knowledge regarding the major kinds of hormones and the phytochrome pigment system. Written primarily for students rather than researchers, the book is purposely brief. Biochemical aspects have been given priority intentionally, somewhat at the expense of physiological considerations. There are extensive citations of the literature-both old and recent-but, it is hoped, not so much documentation as to make the book difficult to read. The specific choices of publications to cite and illustrations to present were made for different reasons, often to illustrate historical develop ment, sometimes to illustrate ideas that later proved invalid, occasionally to exemplify conflicting hypotheses, and most often to illustrate the current state of our knowledge about hormonal phenomena.

This book presents recent advances in understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms of different abiotic stresses such as high or low temperature, salinity, drought, flooding, soil acidity, heavy metals, light stress and ozone stress, and discusses the multifaceted role of phytohormones in stress adaptation and the underlying mechanisms. Aimed at students and researchers in the field of plant science, it offers a comprehensive overview of the versatile roles and interactions of different phytohormones in response to a specific stress factor and examines the possible physiological and molecular mechanisms that have been the subject of recent research.

Agriculture faces many challenges to fulfil the growing demand for sustainable food production and ensure high-quality nutrition for a rapidly growing population. To guarantee adequate food production, it is necessary to increase the yield per area of arable land. A method for achieving this goal has been the application of growth regulators to modulate plant growth. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are substances in specific formulations which, when applied to plants or seeds, have the capacity to promote, inhibit, or modify physiological traits, development and/or stress responses. They maintain proper balance between source and sink for enhancing crop yield. PGRs are used to maximize productivity and quality, improve consistency in production, and overcome genetic and abiotic limitations to plant productivity. Suitable PGRs include hormones such as cytokinins and auxins, and hormone-like compounds such as mepiquat chloride and paclobutrazol. The use of PGRs in mainstream agriculture has steadily increased within the last 20 years as their benefits have become better understood by growers. Unfortunately, the growth of the PGR market may be constrained by a lack of innovation at a time when an increase in demand for new products will require steady innovation and discovery of novel, cost-competitive, specific, and effective PGRs. A plant bio-stimulant is any substance or microorganism applied to plants with the aim to enhance nutrition efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance and/or crop quality traits, regardless of its nutrients content. Apart from traditional PGRs, which are mostly plant hormones, there are a number of substances/molecules such as nitric oxide, methyl jasmonate, brassinosteroids, seaweed extracts, strigolactones, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria etc. which act as PGRs. These novel PGRs or bio-stimulants have been reported to play important roles in stress responses and adaptation. They can protect plants against various stresses, including water deficit, chilling and high temperatures, salinity and flooding. This book includes chapters ranging from sensing and signalling in plants to translational research. In addition, the cross-talk operative in plants in response to varied signals of biotic and abiotic nature is also presented. Ultimately the objective of this book is to present the current scenario and the future plan of action for the management of stresses through traditional as well as novel PGRs. We believe that this book will initiate and introduce readers to state-of-the-art developments and trends in this field of study.