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Silicon (Si) Uptake

  • Chapter
Regulation of Nutrient Uptake by Plants

Abstract

Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element after oxygen and constitutes 27.7 % of the earth’s crust. While the occurrence of pure silicon is rare, silicate minerals account for 90 % of the mass of the earth’s crust. Silicon is a constituent of all plants, and its concentration in shoot may vary from 0.1 to 10 % of dry weight. Plants take up Si primarily as orthosilicic acid. LSi1 (low silicon 1) is a member of NIP2 subgroup of NIP subfamily of aquaporin-like proteins and functions as a Si-permeable channel. LSi6 is a homologue of LSi1 and is involved in xylem unloading of Si in rice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

    Gyanendra Nath Mitra

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  1. Gyanendra Nath Mitra
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Mitra, G.N. (2015). Silicon (Si) Uptake. In: Regulation of Nutrient Uptake by Plants. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2334-4_19

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