This volume features a selection of newly written and illustrated reviews describing our contemporary knowledge of brassinosteroids. Incorporating both theoretical and practical aspects, the chapters aim to inspire future research and development in the field.

The entire range of the developmental processes in plants is regulated by a shift in the hormonal concentration, tissue sensitivity and their interaction with the factors operating around them. Out of the recognized hormones, attention has largely been focused on five - Auxins, Gibberellins, Cytokinin, Abscisic acid and Ethylene. However, the information about the most recent group of phytohormone (Brassinosteroids) has been incorporated in this book. This volume includes a selection of newly written, integrated, illustrated reviews describing our knowledge of Brassinosteroids and aims to describe them at the present time. Various chapters incorporate both theoretical and practical aspects and may serve as baseline information for future researches through which significant developments are possible. This book will be useful to the students, teachers and researchers, both in universities and research institutes, especially in relation to biological and agricultural sciences.

Foreword.- Preface.- 1. Brassinosteroids-occurrence and chemical structures in plants, Andrzej Bajguz.- 2. Regulatory mechanism of brassinosteroid signaling in plants, M.-C. Codreanu and E. Russinova.- 3. Regulation of brassinosteroid metabolism, L. Hategan, B. Godza and M. Szekeres.- 4. Brassinosteroid signaling in rice, H. Nakagawa, A. Tanaka and M. Mori.- 5. Brassinosteroids and light - regulatory factors of growth and development of plants, I. F. Golovatskaya.- 6. Brassinosteroids and photosynthesis.- D. Holá.- 7. Physiological effects related to brassinosteroid application in plants, M.M.A. Gomes.- 8. Genomic and non-genomic events involved in the brassinosteroid promoted plant cell growth, A.B.Pereira-Netto.- 9. Role of brassinosteroids on horticultural crops, Y.Y.Kang and S.R.Guo.- 10. Brassinosteroid action and its relation with heat stress mechanisms in plants, L.M.Mazorra.- 11. Potective effects of brassinosteroids against herbicides, R. Piñol, E. Simón.- 12. Brassinosteroids: under biotic stress, Shamsul Hayat, Mohammad Irfan, Aqil Ahmad.- 13. The significance of ethanol as a hormone solvent in experiments on the physiological activity of brassinosteroids, Anna Janeczko.- 14. Immunoassays of brassinosteroids, V.A. Khripach, V.N.Zhabinskii, R.P. Litvinovskaya.- 15. Transcriptomics and proteomics study in regulation of brassinosteroids, H. F. Juan.- 16. Brassinosteroids for phytoremediation application, M. Barbafieri, E. Tassi.- 17. Prospects of brassinosteroids in medicinal applications, R. Bhardwaj, N. Arora, P. Uppal, I. Sharma, M.K. Kanwar.- Index.