Wiley-Blackwell Plant Desiccation Tolerance

Plant desiccation tolerance is of great basic and applied scientific interest. Understanding plant responses and adaptations to severe desiccation is key to applying desiccation tolerance research to the improvement of economically important crops. Plant Desiccation Tolerance brings together a field of international researchers to provide a current review of the advances in plant desiccation tolerance research. The book is broken up into three sections: Vegetative Desiccation Tolerance; Desiccation Tolerance of Pollen, Spores, and Seeds; and Applications of Desiccation Tolerance Research. Completely up-to-date and written by leading desiccation experts, Plant Desiccation Tolerance will be of great interest to plant researchers and plant and crop science professionals. Review “We recommend this publication first of all to plant-stress physiologists or plant breeders, as well as researchers who work on plant biochemistry and molecular biology, plant genetic research, and seed conservation. Agronomical sciences and, in the long term, agronomists in the field would also derive benefit from this book.” ( The Quarterly Review of Biology, March 2009) From the Inside Flap Water is the key component of life, and most organisms cannot survive dehydration. The plants discussed in this book possess the unique ability to survive severe dehydration—up to and including the complete loss of water, also known as desiccation. As our changing climate demands that plants adapt to more extreme stresses, understanding the responses and adaptations of desiccation-tolerant plants to severe water loss is key to the improvement of economically important crops. Plant Desiccation Tolerance brings together leading international researchers to provide an up-to-date review of the advances in plant desiccation tolerance research. The book is presented in three sections: Vegetative Desiccation Tolerance; Desiccation Tolerance of Pollen, Spores, and Seeds; and Applications of Desiccation Tolerance Research. Plant Desiccation Tolerance not only provides an excellent synthesis of information on this novel adaptation, but also looks forward to the potential applications that might be possible as our understanding of desiccation tolerance continues to expand. Plant Desiccation Tolerance will be an indispensable source of information for plant biologists, crop science researchers and professionals. From the Back Cover Water is the key component of life, and most organisms cannot survive dehydration. The plants discussed in this book possess the unique ability to survive severe dehydration—up to and including the complete loss of water, also known as desiccation. As our changing climate demands that plants adapt to more extreme stresses, understanding the responses and adaptations of desiccation-tolerant plants to severe water loss is key to the improvement of economically important crops. Plant Desiccation Tolerance brings together leading international researchers to provide an up-to-date review of the advances in plant desiccation tolerance research. The book is presented in three sections: Vegetative Desiccation Tolerance; Desiccation Tolerance of Pollen, Spores, and Seeds; and Applications of Desiccation Tolerance Research. Plant Desiccation Tolerance not only provides an excellent synthesis of information on this novel adaptation, but also looks forward to the potential applications that might be possible as our understanding of desiccation tolerance continues to expand. Plant Desiccation Tolerance will be an indispensable source of information for plant biologists, crop science researchers and professionals. About the Author Dr. Matthew A. Jenks is at the Center for Plant Environmental Stress Physiology at Purdue University. Dr. Andrew J. Wood is Professor of Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology in the Department of Plant Biology at Southern Illinois University.