Sulfur in Plants

• Description

Recently, substantial advances have been made in our understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of sulfur acquisition and assimilation and subsequent fate of sulfur pools in plants. Molecular approaches and modern genomics technologies have allowed the elucidation of the component parts of the respective pathways and systems biology is reconstructing many of the networks involved in sulfur biochemistry and associated aspects of plant metabolism. New areas have developed as the underlying importance of sulfur biochemistry to specific plant processes has become appreciated, for example in resistance to pathogens and abiotic stresses such as toxic metals, as well as in interactions with selenium, an essential component of animal health.

This volume highlights the importance of sulfur in a wide range of responses to abiotic and biotic stresses central to ecological adaptation and of potential importance as targets for breeding for practical application in agronomy and environmental protection. We hope that this volume will stimulate research in a wider ecological context and facilitate the mining of new aspects of plant sulfur biology in unexplored species and ecosystems.