Abrol, Y. P. and Ahmad, A. Sulphur in plants

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Since the publication of the still‐valuable Sulphur in agriculture volume (Tabatabai MA, ed., Madison: American Society of Agronomy) in 1986, there has been tremendous progress in knowledge of plant sulfur metabolism and the significance of sulfur metabolites in plant functioning. The growing awareness that sulfur deficiency is currently one of the major nutrient stresses in agriculture, not only in Western Europe but throughout the world, and the assessment of the significance of sulfur metabolites for food quality, protection of plants against stress and pests and their potential as phyto‐pharmaceuticals have boosted plant sulfur research. The research has also benefited from a close co‐operation between groups from various disciplines within Europe and other groups throughout the world. This co‐operation has been the basis for a series of international plant sulfur workshops and the publication of a series of proceeding volumes on ‘sulphur nutrition and assimilation in higher plants’. Most of these proceeding volumes have been published by Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, and present an overview of the ongoing developments in plant sulfur research. The aim of the editors of Sulphur in plants was ‘to put together the research contributions by experts in their respective fields to elaborate the various aspects of sulphur to be considered from the agricultural point of view’. It is a pity that the editors did not have the ambition to prepare an up‐to‐date coherent plant sulfur volume, since this could have become a reference work for plant scientists for the coming years. The Sulphur in plants book contains 21 chapters/reviews, wherein nearly all aspects of plant sulfur metabolism are discussed. Most of the chapters have been prepared by well‐recognized specialists, covering various aspects of sulfur metabolism in plants. Some of the authors also have recently written similar reviews on their topic in journals and other sulfur volumes, although most of them have really put a lot of effort into their contribution here and have chosen a different approach or included a lot of additional information. The majority of the chapters present an up‐to‐date, detailed and balanced overview of the current knowledge within the specific topics and it is also easy to read for non‐specialists in the sulfur field. For instance, the book contains comprehensive reviews on the global sulfur cycle (Haneklaus et al), the significance of sulfur in food production and agriculture (Aulakh; Pasricha and Abrol), the uptake and assimilation of sulfur (Glawischni et al; Harwood and Okanenko; Hawkesford et al; Kopriva and Koprivova; Verkleij et al), the distribution of sulfur in plants (Anderson and Fitzgerald), the significance of sulfur in adaptation to stress (Tausz et al; Sirku et al), and a valuable overview of the possible use of sulfur metabolites as phyto‐pharmaceuticals (Haq and Ali). There is some overlap between the content of different chapters, although this could hardly be avoided. However, what is missing is a coherency between the different chapters: their sequence is not always logical and they could have been more balanced with respect to different disciplines; e.g. introduction, uptake and assimilation of sulfur (essential and secondary sulfur compounds), environmental and agricultural aspects. What is also missing is a summarizing (introduction) chapter presenting a scheduled overview of sulfate metabolism, addressing the significance of cysteine as a precursor of most other sulfur metabolites in plants and the uniqueness of the thiol moiety of cysteine in the structure and function of proteins and other important sulfur‐containing metabolites. Despite the fact that most chapters end with a conclusion/prospects section, it would have been useful to include a chapter discussing the gaps in the present knowledge in plant sulfur metabolism in order to set a trend for further plant sulfur research. Furthermore, the editors should have put more effort into the layout and index of the book. For instance, the size of some of the figures has been reduced to such an extent that their content is hard to read. They are several printing/spacing errors and the index of the book is not very accurate and far from complete. In summary, the book covers all different aspects of sulfur metabolism in plants and it may be useful as a reference book for graduate and postgraduate students and senior scientists, who would like to get involved with or have an interest in plant sulfur metabolism and who do not have access to any other sulfur books. Thus it is valuable as a reference volume in the libraries of plant science departments of universities and institutes. Due to its high price, it is less attractive for individual buyers.