Potassium (K+) is an essential mineral macronutrient abundantly present in the cytosol which, unlike other macronutrients, is not metabolized and does not integrate into macromolecules. Compared to animal cells, K+ is more abundantly present in plant cells.

Overall performance of the plant, and operation of metabolic machinery depends upon intracellular K+ homeostasis (K+ uptake and efflux) via K+ channels and transporters acting as mediators of cellular responses during plant development. Unlike animals, plants lack sodium/K+ exchangers; plant cells have developed unique transport systems for K+ accumulation and release. In Arabidopsis thaliana, 71 K+ channels and transporters have been identified and categorized into six families.

Plant adaptive responses to several abiotic and biotic stresses are mediated by regulation of intracellular K+ homeostasis. In this report, we highlight the role of K+ in abiotic and biotic stresses, features of channels and transporters responsible for its homeostasis along with its evolutionary relationship, perception and sensing mechanisms, and K+ deficiency triggering different signaling cascades.

Overall, this book covers the role of K+ in plants would be significantly helpful to research, academic community as well as students to understand the one of the major attributes of plant biology.

Autorentext
Dr. Girdhar Kumar Pandey, Assoc. ProfessorDelhi University South CampusDept. of Molecular BiologyBenito Juarez Road, Dhaula Kuan110021 New DelhiIndia
Swati Mahiwal, M.Sc.Delhi University South CampusDepartment of Plant Molecular BiologyBenito Juarez, Dhaula Kuan110021 New DelhiIndiaSwati271095@gmail.com

Inhalt
Preface Chapter 1. Introduction: Overview of Role of potassium

· Potassium as a nutrient

· Potassium : major intracellular ion

· Potassium as an osmoticum

· Potassium as a signalling molecule

· Importance of potassium in agriculture · References

Chapter 2: Potassium Homeostasis · Introduction

· General overview of potassium Homeostasis

· Potassium uptake and transport system

· Potassium homeostasis in plants and its regulation

· References

Chapter 3: Potassium uptake and transport system in plants

· Introduction

· Potassium channels and transporters families

· Characteristics of potassium channels and transporters

· Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of potassium transporters

· Cellular and subcellular localization

· References

Chapter 4: Sequence, structure and domain analysis of potassium channels and transporters

· Introduction

· Sequence, domain architecture and conserved domains · Evolutionary relationship of potassium channels and transporters in plants

· References

Chapter 5: Potassium in plant growth and development

· Introduction

· Potassium in vegetative growth, shoot growth

· Potassium in grain filling · Potassium in opening and closing of stomata

· References

Chapter 6: Potassium in abiotic stress

· Introduction

· Potassium in drought and waterlogging stress · Potassium in Low-temperature stress

· Potassium in salt stress

· References

Chapter 7: Potassium deficiency: A stress signal

· Introduction · Overview of pot...