Beatrice Welch and Micheal Wilkerson (Editors)

Series: Plant Science Research and Practices
BISAC: SCI011000

Recent Advances in Plant Research begins by providing a summary of work performed on the effects of environmental factors and growth treatments on secondary metabolite production in both conventionally and in vitro cultivated plant material, focusing on different classes of volatile and non-volatile secondary metabolites.

Following this, the authors set out to determine the diversity of Fabaceae in vegetational fragments of Cerrado in the state of Maranhão. Monthly expeditions were carried out in the period between September 2016 and June 2017 for the observation, collection, and identification of botanical material.

The great potential of the most important by-products of apples, grapes and berry fruits processing as a source of antioxidants is presented in one chapter. Some novel and practical aspects of extraction of natural antioxidants are also discussed.

Also discussed is gray mold rot caused by Botrytis cinerea Persoon: Fries [teleomorph Botryotinia fuckeliana (de Bary) Whetzel]. It is a serious disease causing severe damage to fruits and vegetables at both pre- and post-harvest periods. The authors aim to highlight try to highlight the disease distribution and hosts range, pathogenesis of the pathogen, symptoms of the disease, disease cycle and epidemiology of the pathogen as well as the current status of the disease in Malaysia.

Plants produce an array of toxins and defensive proteins through various metabolic pathways for their defence against insects. To cope with these defences, herbivores have developed counter-defences which the authors examine in this compilation. Furthermore, insects have employed a diverse array of strategies that enable them to bypass defensive barriers, or to metabolise these chemicals after ingestion.

Next, angiosperm flowers that have been found in mid-Cretaceous Myanmar (Burmese) amber are analyzed. Flowers in amber often show details of their reproductive parts that are not evident in blooms preserved in sedimentary deposits. Two new genera are described, Chenocybus allodapus gen et sp. nov. and Diaphoranthus burmensis gen et sp. nov.

Japan, which extends north and south, has four clearly defined seasons that provide a variety of unique habitats for the growth of various aromatic and medicinal plants. Recent focus on these traditional plants has begun to revitalize local communities, providing diversification to alternative medicines and the development of other products, as well as suggesting increased and use of plants.

Aiming to better understand the phytodiversity of a vegetation area in the Piauí state, Brazil, in addition to aspects such as the geographical distribution of species and their uses, the concluding study was carried out in municipality of Bom Princípio, northern Piauí. The diverse flora was represented by trees, shrubs and herbaceous species, distributed in 54 families, 114 generas, and 146 species.