Acid soil is a worldwide problem to plant production. Acid toxicity is mainly caused by a lack of essential nutrients in the soil and excessive toxic metals in the plant root zone. Of the toxic metals, aluminum (Al) is the most prevalent and most toxic. Plant species have evolved to variable levels of tolerance to aluminum enabling breeding of high Al-tolerant cultivars. Physiological and molecular approaches have revea ed some mechanisms of Al toxicity in higher plants. Mechanisms of plant tolerance to Al stress include: 1) exclusion of Al from the root tips, and 2) absorbance, but tolerance of Al in root cells. Organic acid exudation to chelate Al is a feature shared by many higher plants. The future challenge for Al tolerance studies is the identification of novel tolerance mechanisms and the combination of different mechanisms to achieve higher tolerance. Molecular approaches have led to significant progress in explaining mechanisms and detection of genes responsible for Al tolerance. Gene-specific molecular markers offer better options for marker-assisted selection in breeding programs than linked marker strategies. This paper mainly focuses on recent progress in the use of molecular approaches in Al tolerance research.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	soil acidity, aluminum, marker-assisted selection, mechanism
Research Division:	Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences
Research Group:	Crop and pasture production
Research Field:	Crop and pasture improvement (incl. selection and breeding)
Objective Division:	Plant Production and Plant Primary Products
Objective Group:	Grains and seeds
Objective Field:	Barley
UTAS Author:	Bian, M (Ms Miao Bian)
UTAS Author:	Zhou, M (Professor Meixue Zhou)
ID Code:	87430
Year Published:	2013
Deposited By:	Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture
Deposited On:	2013-11-15
Last Modified:	2017-11-06
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