This book provides a comprehensive update on the recent developments concerning the role of plant neurotransmitters in signaling and communication. Physiological investigations over the past few decades have demonstrated that plants employ neurotransmitters in various signaling pathways. Plant-based neurotransmitters (serotonin, melatonin, dopamine, acetylcholine, and GABA) share biochemical similarities with those in animal systems in terms of their chemical nature and biochemical pathways. Plant–environment interaction associated with abiotic stress management, growth modulation,...

Demand for agricultural crops and nutritional requirement continues to escalate in response to increasing population. Also, climate change exerts adverse effects on agriculture crop productivity. Plant researchers have, therefore, focused to identify the scientific approaches that minimize the negative impacts of climate change on agricultural crops. Thus, it is the need of the hour to expedite the process for improving stress tolerance mechanisms in agricultural crops against various environmental factors, in order to fulfil the world’s food demand. Among the various applied approaches,...

Plant hormones have pivotal roles in the regulation of plant growth, development, and reproduction. Their signaling pathways are interconnected in a complex network, which provides plants with an enormous regulatory potential to rapidly adapt to their environment and to utilize their limited resources for growth and survival in a cost-efficient manner. Auxin is a hormone molecule whose activity levels are most important for its regulatory roles during plant cell, organ, and tissue development. Therefore, the precise regulation of auxin levels is an essential mechanism to fine-tune the...

Plant hormones have pivotal roles in the regulation of plant growth, development, and reproduction. Their signaling pathways are interconnected in a complex network, which provides plants with an enormous regulatory potential to rapidly adapt to their environment and to utilize their limited resources for growth and survival in a cost-efficient manner. Auxin is a hormone molecule whose activity levels are most important for its regulatory roles during plant cell, organ, and tissue development. Therefore, the precise regulation of auxin levels is an essential mechanism to fine-tune the...

In many parts of the world, soil and water are slightly to moderately contaminated with metals and metalloids such as Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, Cr, Pb, Si, B and As. This could be due to long-term use of phosphatic fertilizers, sewage sludge application, dust from smelters, industrial waste and bad watering practices in agricultural lands. Beside natural factors, human activities have contributed to the enormous increase in heavy metal and/or metalloid pollution in the environment. Metal and metalloid stress are major abiotic stress factors that limit crop production and reduce agricultural...

This book covers correlation and combined disciplinary aspects implying the use of secondary metabolites (SMs) of different plant species for control and monitoring of environment states. Phytochemical management of ecological systems represents an integrative field aiming for determination/evaluation of environment conditions from qualitative and quantitative analysis of plant metabolites. Plants respond to environmental conditions through productions of secondary metabolites. SMs represent highly variable and sensitive phytocompounds because of their small produced amounts, high...