Melatonin in Plants: A Regulator for Plant Growth and Development

This book highlights the multifunctional role of the ubiquitous molecule, melatonin, in crop plants. The major focus of this edition is to provide detailed insights into morphophysiological, biochemical, and molecular responses of melatonin in the growth and development of the plant. The inception of melatonin as an animal hormone and the subsequent discovery of its multifaceted function in the animal system has triggered the research on this pineal gland hormone. During the last decade, the discovery, quantification and functional studies of melatonin as phytohormone has emerged at a rapid pace. Recently, this phyto-protectant has become an integral component of lab and field-based research on the mitigation of adverse effects of climate-driven abiotic stresses and postharvest biology and technology.

The book explores various biosynthetic pathways and detection of melatonin covering its role in flowering, fruit development, photosynthesis, respiration, hormonal crosstalk, post-harvest biology and reactive oxygen species and nitrogen cycles. This book is of high interest to postharvest industries, horticulturists, scientists, researchers, and students.

Dr. Ravinder Kumar, Ph.D., Senior Scientist (Plant Pathology), ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India has over 15 years of research experience on biotic and abiotic stresses management in plants, potato biotechnology particularly formulation of dsRNA for late blight, development of transgenic lines with ToLCNDV resistance, potato genetic resource management, developed several diagnostic tools like uniplex/multiplex RT-PCR, real-time RT-PCR, LAMP, and RT-RPA protocols for the detection of potato pathogens, molecular characterization and genome sequencing of plant pathogens. He has published over 120 research papers/reviews articles in national/international peer reviewed journals, training manuals and book chapters, edited Institute publications like newsletters and annual reports. He is the recipient of Awards like IPA-Kaushalya Sikka Memorial Award, IPA-Chandra Prabha Singh Young Scientist Award, Young Scientist Associate award, best oral/poster awards of different scientific professional societies. He is a member of editorial board as an Academic editor of the PeerJ, PLOS One, Associate editor of Heliyon, Functional Plant Biology, BMC Plant Biology, Frontiers in Microbiology, Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, Plant Growth Regulation, Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection, European Journal of Plant Pathology, Guest associate editor of Frontiers in Plant Science, Frontiers in Agronomy, Frontiers in Genetics etc.

Dr. Muhammad Ahsan Altaf completed his Ph.D. from the School of Life Science at Hainan University, China. He is currently employed as a postdoctoral researcher in the College of Horticulture, Hainan University, China. He has published around 50 research articles in top leading journals of the world, having high impact factor. His research interests are focused on the physiological, biochemical, and molecular aspects of horticultural plants, especially solanaceous vegetable crops. Dr. Altaf is actively engaged ininvestigating the role of melatonin in photosynthetic efficiency and mineral nutrient uptake from root to shoot under abiotic stress conditions.

Dr. Milan Kumar Lal, Doctor in Plant Physiology, working in the area of abiotic, abiotic stress and nutritional aspect of potato and other starchy crops at ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, India. He is an expert worker in the area of abiotic stress such as heat, drought salinity and heavy metal. Moreover, he is also working on the aspect of effect of biotic stress such as fungus, virus and bacteria on plant physiological, biochemical and molecular responses. Apart from this, he also has expertise in the nutritional and quality aspects of starchy crops, including resistant starch, glycemic index, phytonutrients, functional fermented foods and beverages, bioactive compounds, and various processing techniques to enhance these components in food products of starchy crops. He is the recipient of prestigious awards such as the Best PhD Thesis Award, PhD Merit Medal Award, Young Researcher Award, RD Asana Gold Medal Award, . His findings have generated more than 120 publications in the international peer-reviewed journal.

Dr. Rahul Kumar Tiwari, Doctor in Plant Pathology, works as a scientist at ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute Shimla, India. The research work of Dr Tiwari is focused on management of crop diseases, abiotic stress mitigation in horticultural crops, and the role of phytohormones in plant defense. His recent research findings on the impact of Fusarium dry rot disease on potatoes provide critical information on the pathogen, its genomics, and potential management strategies. Moreover, Dr Tiwari's research on the development of one-step reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) assays for the detection of potato viruses has the potential to contribute significantly to the development of disease-free potato seed certification programs. Dr Rahul KumarTiwari's exceptional research work has been widely recognized and awarded, including the IARI Gold Medal Award for his outstanding Ph.D. research work, and the Young Scientist Award. He has authored over 80 publications in highly acclaimed international and national peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, newsletters, and popular articles.