Algae inhabit all conceivable habitats and have a variety of physiological, biochemical, and molecular strategies to cope with harsh environments. This book presents a critical account of various mechanisms of stress tolerance in algae, many of which may occur in microbes and plants as well.
Algal adaptation to stress - some general remarks.- Carbon limitation.- Nitrogen limitation.- Phosphate limitation.- Trace metal constraints on carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus acquisition and assimilation by phytoplankton.- Acclimation of photosynthetic light energy conversion to the light environments.- Adaptation to UV stress in algae.- Temperature stress and basic bioenergetic strategies for stress defence.- Acidophilic and acidotolerant algae.- Alkaliphilic and alkali tolerant algae.- Salt acclimation of algae and cyanobacteria: a comparison.- Heavy metal tolerance in algae.- Eukaryotic algae, cyanobacteria and pesticides.- Subject index.