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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Ithaca, New York » Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #157879
Title: THE PHYSIOLOGY, GENETICS, AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF PLANT ALUMINUM TOLERANCE AND TOXICITY

Author
item Kochian, Leon
item HOEKENGA, OWEN - CORNELL UNIVERSITY
item PINEROS, MIGUEL - CORNELL UNVIERSITY

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/18/2005
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Aluminum (Al) toxicity is the primary factor limiting crop production on acidic soils and, because 50% of the world's potentially arable lands are acidic, Al toxicity is a very important limitation to worldwide crop production. The importance of this topic to agriculture has been the driving force behind considerable research by a number of laboratories around the world on mechanisms of plant Al toxicity, and or the mechanisms by which certain plant species and genotypes within species tolerate toxic levels of Al in the soil. This chapter will examine our current understanding of mechanisms of Al toxicity, as well as the physiological, genetic and molecular basis for Al tolerance. This is a field that is entering a phase of new discovery, as researchers are on the verge of identifying some of the genes that condition Al tolerance in plants. The identification and characterization of Al tolerance genes will not only greatly advance our understanding of Al tolerance mechanisms, but, more importantly, will be the source of new molecular resources that researchers will use to develop improved crops better suited for cultivation on the acid soils that comprise a large fraction of the world's lands.