Introduction To The Biochemistry And Physiology Of Plant Growth Hormones

The nature of plant growth hormones; Growth hormones in shoot and root development; Growth hormones in phototropism and geotropism; Hormones and reproduction in higher plants; Growth hormones and phase change in plants; The mechanism of action of plant growth hormones.

Biochemistry and Physiology oj Plant Hormones is intended primarily as a textbook or major reference for a one-term intermediate-level or advanced course dealing with hormonal regulation of growth and development of seed plants for students majoring in biology, botany, and applied botany fields such as agronomy, forestry, and horticulture. Additionally, it should be useful to others who wish to become familiar with the topic in relation to their principal student or professional interests in related fields. It is assumed that readers will have a background in fundamental biology, plant physiology, and biochemistry. The dominant objective of Biochemistry and Physiology oj Plant Hor mones is to summarize, in a reasonably balanced and comprehensive way, the current state of our fundamental knowledge regarding the major kinds of hormones and the phytochrome pigment system. Written primarily for students rather than researchers, the book is purposely brief. Biochemical aspects have been given priority intentionally, somewhat at the expense of physiological considerations. There are extensive citations of the literature-both old and recent-but, it is hoped, not so much documentation as to make the book difficult to read. The specific choices of publications to cite and illustrations to present were made for different reasons, often to illustrate historical develop ment, sometimes to illustrate ideas that later proved invalid, occasionally to exemplify conflicting hypotheses, and most often to illustrate the current state of our knowledge about hormonal phenomena.

volume 2

Biochemistry and Physiology of Plant Hormones is intended primarily as a textbook or major reference for a one-term ;intermediate-Ievel or ad vanced course dealing with hormonal regulation of growth and develop ment of seed plants for students majoring in biology, botany, and applied botany fields such as agronomy, forestry, and horticulture. Additionally, it should be useful to others who wish to become familiar with the topic in relation to their principal student or professional interests in related fields. It is assumed that readers will have a background in fundamental biology, plant physiology, and biochemistry. The dominant objective of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plant Hor mones is to summarize, in a reasonably balanced and comprehensive way, the current state of our fundamental knowledge regarding the major kinds of hormones and the phytochrome pigment system. Written pri marily for students rather than researchers, the book is purposely brief. Biochemical aspects have been given priority intentionally, somewhat at the expense of physiological considerations. There are extensive citations ofthe literature-both old and recent-but, it is hoped, not so much docu mentation as to make the book difficult to read. The specific choices of publications to cite and illustrations to present were made for different reasons, often to illustrate historical development, sometimes to illustrate ideas that later proved invalid, occasionally to exemplify conflicting hy potheses, and most often to illustrate the current state of our knowledge about hormonal phenomena.

Plant hormones play a crucial role in controlling the way in which plants growand develop. Whilemetabolism providesthepowerand buildingblocks for plant life, it is the hormones that regulate the speed of growth of the individual parts and integrate these parts to produce the form that we recognize as a plant. In addition, theyplayacontrolling role inthe processes of reproduction. This book is a description ofthese natural chemicals: how they are synthesizedand metabolized; howthey work; whatwe knowoftheir molecular biology; how we measure them; and a description ofsome ofthe roles they play in regulating plant growth and development. Emphasis has also been placed on the new findings on plant hormones deriving from the expanding use ofmolecular biology as a tool to understand these fascinating regulatory molecules. Even at the present time, when the role of genes in regulating all aspects of growth and development is considered of prime importance, it is still clear that the path of development is nonetheless very much under hormonal control, either via changes in hormone levels in response to changes in gene transcription, or with the hormones themselves as regulators ofgene transcription. This is not a conference proceedings, but a selected collection ofnewly written, integrated, illustrated reviews describing our knowledge of plant hormones, and the experimental work that is the foundation of this knowledge.

Cells, tissues, and organs: the architecture of plants; The plant cell building blocks: lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates; Lipids are a class of molecules that includes fats, oils, sterols, and pigments; Proteins playa central role in the biochemistry of cells and are responsible for virtually all the properties of life as we know it; Carbohydrates are the most abundant class of biological molecules; Biological membranes; The membrane lipid forms a bilayer, a highly fluid but very stable structure; Membranes contain significantamounts of protein; Cellular organelles; Most mature plant cells contain a large, central vacuole; The nucleus is the information center of the cell; The endoplasmic reticulum and golgi apparatus are centers of membrane biosynthesis and secretory activities; The mitochondrion is the principal site of cellular respiration; Plastids are a family of organelles with a variety of functions; Microbodies are metabolically very active; Cytoskeleton the extracellular matrix; The primary cell wall is a flexible n etwork of cellulose microfibrils and cross-linking glycans; The cellulose-glycan lattice is embedded in a matrix of pectin and protein; Cellulose microfibrils are assembled at the plasma membrane as they are extruded into the cell wall; The secondary cell wall is deposited on the inside of the primary wall in maturing cells; Plasmadesmata are cytoplasmic channels extend through the wall to connect the protoplasts of adjacent cells; Tissues and organs; Tissues are groups of cells that form organized, functional unit; Meristems are regions of perpetually dividing cells; Parenchyma is the most abundant living tissue in plants; Supporting tissues are distributed throughout the primary and secondary plant bodies; Vascular tissues are the principal conducting tissues for water and nutrients ; Epidermis is a superficial tissue that f orms a continuous layer over the surface of the primary; Plant body; Plant organs; Roots anchor the plant and absorb water and minerais from the soil.

Plant Physiology: A Treatise, Volume X: Growth and Development explores the physiology of plant growth and development, considering the morphogenesis and morphogenetic systems, dormancy, environmental cues in plant growth and development, plant senescence, the role of hormones in growth regulation, cell division, and growth and development in space. This volume is organized into eight chapters and begins with an introduction to morphogenesis as a developmental phenotype, emphasizing the cell and the shoot. The next chapters cover events in the life of the plant, reflecting the importance of the whole plant concept to the subject, and the ways in which these events are controlled and integrated into environmental signals and events. An experimental approach to a model system for dormancy is described, and then the discussion shifts to senescence and death of plants as aspects of plant development. This volume also presents a clear and illuminating overview of the major plant growth regulators and their modes of action. This book also introduces the reader to cell division and its effect on most major developmental events after fertilization, along with the genetic analysis of development and its control by genes. The final chapter focuses on the integration of plant growth studies with the technology of space travel, which permits analysis of plant behavior in the complete absence of gravity. This book is intended for researchers, students, and specialists in related fields who wish to gain insight on the concepts and research trends in plant growth and development.