Though plant cells are separated by cell walls, cells maintain their identity as they are delimited by semi-permeable membranes that permit them to function as autonomous units. The flow of materials in and out of the cell is regulated by channels, transporters, pumps, and acquaporins in these membranes. The cytoplasm is sandwiched between two membranes: the plasma membrane, which forms the outer boundary of the cytoplasm, and the tonoplast or the vacuolar membrane which forms the inner boundary. Cell membranes serve several different functions: form boundaries and provide compartmentalization, site of chemical reactions catalyzed by membrane proteins, regulate the exchange of ions/compounds across the barrier, site of perception/transmission of signals (hormones), and act in cell-to-cell communication. The membrane functions are affected by different abiotic (biotic stress not discussed), nutritional, edaphic and mechanical stresses, which have been discussed in this volume in light of the recent literature

Biologists worldwide now speak the scientific language of molecular biology and use the same molecular tools. Interest is growing in the molecular biology of abiotic stress tolerance and modes of installing better tolerant mechanisms in crop plants. Current studies make plants capable of sustaining their yields even under stressful conditions. Further, this information may form the basis for its application in biotechnology and bioinformatics.

Advances in Rice Research for Abiotic Stress Tolerance provides an important guide to recognizing, assessing and addressing the broad range of environmental factors that can inhibit rice yield. As a staple food for nearly half of the world's population, and in light of projected population growth, improving and increasing rice yield is imperative. This book presents current research on abiotic stresses including extreme temperature variance, drought, hypoxia, salinity, heavy metal, nutrient deficiency and toxicity stresses. Going further, it identifies a variety of approaches to alleviate the damaging effects and improving the stress tolerance of rice. Advances in Rice Research for Abiotic Stress Tolerance provides an important reference for those ensuring optimal yields from this globally important food crop. - Covers aspects of abiotic stress, from research, history, practical field problems faced by rice, and the possible remedies to the adverse effects of abiotic stresses - Provides practical insights into a wide range of management and crop improvement practices - Presents a valuable, single-volume sourcebook for rice scientists dealing with agronomy, physiology, molecular biology and biotechnology

Plants are frequently exposed to unfavorable and adverse environmental conditions known as abiotic stressors. These factors can include salinity, drought, heat, cold, flooding, heavy metals, and UV radiation which pose serious threats to the sustainability of crop yields. Since abiotic stresses are major constraints for crop production, finding the approaches to enhance stress tolerance is crucial to increase crop production and increase food security. This book discusses approaches to enhance abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants on a global scale. Plants scientists and breeders will learn how to further mitigate plant responses and develop new crop varieties for the changing climate.

The book entitled "Plant Stress Tolerance – Physiological & Molecular Strategies" has been especially edited for holistic development of the science of agriculture and crop production under distinctly changing environment. Resource utilization is always overlooked; hence a brief focus on sustainability has been remarkably presented to prove the meaningfulness of this publication. This book brings ingenious applied researches highlighting the major environmental factors coupled with scrupulous strategies in solving abiotic stresses in varied micro and macro agro-climatic conditions , in general, and unfolding the basis for tolerance mechanisms in plant systems, in particular.

The Volume 2 of the treatise on the Developments in Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants provides additional information in the crucial areas for making precise and applied research in the national context, on the one hand, and to unravel the science, on the other hand. In the earlier volume, the theme of publishing this needful treatise has been already made obvious. However, in view of the experiences and enormous advances in plant science research in the last few decades providing enough insight to scan vital research in this century has, almost certainly, enlightened the path to undertake necessary research projects for the benefit of mankind to which we are indispensably committed. We, the plant physiologists, biochemists, molecular biologists and plant nutritionists must be proud of our support to the world's farmers which has helped them make their achievement possible. In this century, up to 2025, the human population is expected to double and that is in truth a serious issue for us to trace out the limiting factors reducing yield potentiality of crop plants, on the one hand, and to understand the science of related processes at different levels, alternatively. This principally necessitates for elucidation of dimensions of environmental stresses in relation to crop plants and their genotypes, optimally suitable to prevailing stress conditions. Of course, in the last few decades more emphasis was laid in this direction and remarkable progress has been made at the global scale to meet the challenges. Owing to this, distinguished scientists have been consistently reviewing and synchronizing the manifold research and signifying specific research of basic and applied implication in classified segment. It is delightful to mention that our attempt to sufficiently provide the essential and comprehensive literature to speed up important research in explicit areas of plant sciences has been once again tremendously satisfactory due to exceptional dedication of illustrious Indian scientists in the preparation of this momentous work. This treatise has been ordered with twelve excellent contributions in the form of review articles by thirty well- known Indian workers and academicians. The reviews are relevant to guide for theme oriented research as well as for scientific future planning of research projects. The four applicable sections related to: I. Sustainable Crop Productivity, II. Recent Advances in Plant Metabolism; III. Molecular Physiology of Plants; IV. Environmental Stresses in Plants consist of over twelve meaningful review articles as substantial chapteMoreover, as promised, prominence has been given to compile extremely important aspects of Stress Physiology. The detailed choice of the contents of the various contributions has been left largely to the individual authoDoubtless, this book will be of immense help to scientists, teachers and students of almost all disciplines of Agriculture, Botany and Biotechnology.

This edited volume provides state-of–the-art overview of abiotic stress responses and tolerance mechanisms of different legume crops viz., chickpea, mung bean, lentil, black gram, cowpea, cluster bean, soybean and groundnut. Legumes play an important role in human nutrition and soil health through fixation of nitrogen. Legume production and productivity are vulnerable to different abiotic stresses. A proper understanding about the physiological and molecular basis of the legume crops is essential for genetic improvement of abiotic stress tolerance. This book consists of 15 chapters covering physiological and biochemical basis, molecular physiology, molecular breeding, genetics, genomics, transgenics, epigenetics of drought, saline, high temperature and nutrient deficiency stresses, and the role of microRNAs in abiotic stress tolerance. This volume offers new perspectives in legume crop abiotic stress management, and is useful for various stakeholders, including post graduates students, scientists, environmentalists and policymakers.

Plants live in environments influenced by various abiotic factors that can cause diverse stresses, for example, because of low or high temperature, deficient or excessive water, high salinity, heavy metals, and ultraviolet radiation, etc. These abiotic stresses are hostile to plant growth and development, leading to great fruit quality and crop yield penalties worldwide, especially under the global climate change. Facing the numerous abiotic stresses, plants have developed strategies to protect themselves in evolution. The elucidation of their effects and underlying mechanisms is of great significance as a fundamental principle to relieve the pressure of environmental changes and to meet the demand of human population growth Up-to-date scientific efforts are welcome to be delivered into this topic for a comprehensive understanding of the physiological and molecular effects of diverse abiotic stresses on plants ranging from model species to economically important crops. The newly identified and characterized mechanisms and genetics associated with plant adaptability to abiotic stress will provide novel insights into the physiological and molecular alterations of plants under abiotic stresses. It will assist in understanding plants’ behavior adapting to the environmental change and perspective agricultural practice including crop breeding and field management, and eventually help maintain the food security, safety, and sustainability. In addition, increasing evidence shows that the recent advancements and developments of plant biotechnologies and application of big data to the area of plant science promote the understanding of the physiological and molecular effects of diverse abiotic stresses on plants. Hence, the investigations integrated by multidisciplinary approaches are strongly encouraged, including but not limited to: CRISPR/Cas-mediated gene editing, functional genomics, phenomics, and high-throughput phenotyping etc.