The life of proteins starts and ends as amino acids. In addition to the primary function as protein building blocks, amino acids serve multiple other purposes to make a plant's life worth living. This is true especially for the amino acids of the glutamate family, namely glutamate (Glu), glutamine (Gln), proline (Pro) and arginine (Arg), as well as the product of Glu decarboxylation, ?-aminobut…
Medicinal plants and natural products have played a central role in therapeutics, being considered the origin of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. Plants are still a source in nature to obtain and isolate molecules with pharmacological applications (drug discovery), but can also be used as herbal medicinal products in traditional or complementary medicine. In addition, the WHO has launched a Traditio…
Photosynthesis is one of the most important reactions on Earth, and it is a scientific field that is intrinsically interdisciplinary, with many research groups examining it. We could learn many strategies from photosynthesis and can apply these strategies in artificial photosynthesis. Artificial photosynthesis is a research field that attempts to replicate the natural process of photosynthesis.…
This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researcher…
African ecosystems comprise a wealthy repository of biodiversity, with a high proportion of native and endemic plant species, which makes them biologically unique and providers of a wide range of ecosystem services. A large part of African populations, in both rural and urban areas, depend on plants for their survival and welfare, but many ecosystems are being degraded, mostly due to the growin…
This open access multi-authored book presents a 'state of the science' synthesis of knowledge on the biodiversity of Angola, based on sources in peer-reviewed journals, in books and where appropriate, unpublished official reports. The book identifies Angola as one of the most biologically diverse countries in Africa, but notes that its fauna, flora, habitats and the processes that drive the dyn…
This reprint presents two reviews and thirteen research articles dealing with a broad range of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships. Each article provides in-depth discussion of the various aspects of BEF relationships in naturally and experimentally assembled communities. This reprint will help to substantially deepen our understanding of BEF interactions and elaborate bi…
At the dawn of the third millennium, dramatic challenges face human civilization everywhere. Relations between human beings and their environment are in peril, with mounting threats to both biological diversity of life on earth and cultural diversity of human communities. The peoples of the Circumpolar Arctic are at the forefront of these challenges and lead the way in seeking meaningful respon…
Virocontrol involves biocontrol of pathogens via hypovirulence-causing mycoviruses. This chapter discusses the characteristics of mycoviruses and the conditions that need to be met to make a successful virocontrol agent. The chapter describes one of the success stories so far, that of virocontrol of Cryphonectria parasitica, the chestnut blight pathogen. The chapter ends by reviewing future tre…
Biological nitrogen fixation has essential role in N cycle in global ecosystem. Several types of nitrogen fixing bacteria are recognized: the free-living bacteria in soil or water; symbiotic bacteria making root nodules in legumes or non-legumes; associative nitrogen fixing bacteria that resides outside the plant roots and provides fixed nitrogen to the plants; endophytic nitrogen fixing bacter…