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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Ithaca, New York » Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #155087
Title: HOW DO CROP PLANTS TOLERATE ACID SOILS? MECHANISMS OF ALUMINUM TOLERANCE AND PHOSPHOROUS EFFICIENCY

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

Submitted to: Annual Reviews of Plant Biology
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/4/2004
Publication Date: 5/26/2004
Citation: Kochian, L.V., Hoekenga, O., Pineros, M. 2004. How do crop plants tolerate acid soils? mechanisms of aluminum tolerance and phosphorous efficiency. Annual Reviews of Plant Biology. 55:459-493.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Acid soils are a significant limitation to crop production worldwide, as approximately 50% of the world's potentially arable soils are acidic. Because acid soils are such an important constraint to agriculture, understanding the mechanisms and genes conferring tolerance to acid soil stress has been a focus on intense research interest over the past decade. The primary limitations on acid soils are toxic levels of aluminum (Al) and manganese (Mn), as well as suboptimal levels of phosphorous (P). This review will examine our current understanding of the physiological, genetic and molecular basis for crop Al tolerance, as well as review the emerging area of P efficiency, which involves the genetically-based ability of some crop genotypes to tolerate P deficiency stress on acid soils. These are interesting times for this field, as researchers are on the verge of identifying some of the genes that confer Al tolerance in crop plants; these discoveries will open up new avenues of molecular/physiological inquiry that should greatly advance our understanding of these tolerance mechanisms. Additionally, these breakthroughs will provide new molecular resources for improving crop Al tolerance via both molecular-assisted breeding and biotechnology.