This book highlights recent advances in the field of plant-biotic interactions and explores current serious issues in the crop production industry. It is intended to attract more attention to these important, but often overlooked areas, and to stimulate new ideas for future research.
Plants are constantly under attack by pathogens, pests, and parasites, which can significantly impact worldwide food production and human health. While pathogens and pests attack and interconnect with their hosts in a variety of ways, plants have developed sophisticated immune systems to fight infections. In the field of plant-biotic interactions, most of the studies to date have focused on the function and signaling pathways of plant disease resistance proteins and pattern recognition receptors, as well as pathogen effector proteins.
In contrast, this book presents new and emerging research areas, and introduces students, researchers, academics, and policy advisors to the latest trends in e.g. microbial technology, environmental microbiology, agricultural science, the health sciences, biological sciences and other related disciplines.
Prof Dr Ajit Varma: Professor Varma has completed his PhD at the age of 25 years from Allahabad University and Former Professor, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. Presently, he is the Distinguished Scientist & Professor of Eminence of Amity Institute of Microbial Technology; Pro-Vice Chancellor, Ritnand Balved Education Foundation, and Vice Chairman, Amity Science, Technology & Innovation Foundation Amity University Uttar Pradesh, India. He has published more than 314 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editor in Chief of Soil Biology Series, Springer Verlag Germany. Dr Varma is the Fellow of Alexander-von-Humboldt Society, Germany, elected Fellow of National Academy Agricultural Sciences and Fellow of Microbiology Society of India.
Dr Swati Tripathi: Assistant Professor at Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University, Noida, India. She is working on plant microbe interaction, and microbial biotechnology. Dr Tripathi has a number of research papers and review articles to her credit in the journals of international repute. She has her post doctoral experience from South Korea and has been awarded Early Career Research Award recently.
Dr Ram Prasad: Assistant Professor at Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University, Noida, India. He is working on plant microbe interaction, nanobiotechnology, and microbial biotechnology. Dr Prasad has edited several books and has a number of research papers and review articles to his credit in the journals of international repute. During 2014, Dr Prasad has been awarded American Cancer Society UICC International Fellowship for Beginning Investigator, USA. Presently, he is working as Research Associate Professor at School of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, China.
