Molecular Genetics Of Plant Development

The purpose of this book is to present classical plant development in modern, molecular-genetic terms. The study of plant development is rapidly changing as plant genome projects uncover a multitude of new genes. This book provides a framework for integrating gene discovery and genome analysis into the context of plant development. Molecular Genetics of Plant Development is designed to be used as a text-book for upper-division or graduate courses in plant development. The book will also serve as a reference book for scientists in the field of plant molecular biology or plant molecular genetics. The book is also useful for general development courses in which both animal and plant development are presented.

Interest in developmental biology has exploded in recent years with the use of molecular techniques. There are some excellent textbooks on animal systems, but they make only a token gesture towards plants. For this book, Peter Westhoff and his strong team of co-authors have taken great painsto prepare a clear, integrated textbook for undergraduate and graduate students studying the molecular and developmental biology of plants. Pedagogical features include boxes and definitions, two-colour text and illustrations throughout, and an extensive glossary. A short format has been chosendeliberately to keep the information concise, while building on basic knowledge which is treated in more elementary textbooks and referring to additional work in a commented bibliography.

Presented here is an analysis of plant development and plant metabolism using the tools of genetics and molecular biology, such as mutant analysis, mutation tagging, mapping using polymorphic characters and basic molecular biology techniques. Studies with a range of model genetic organisms, most notably maize and Arabidopsis, are included. The reader gains a comprehensive view of the subject which is more and more of both scientific and industrial interest. The value of basic research in plants is highlighted and examples where basic studies have led to applications in agricultural biotechnology are given.

Many exciting discoveries in recent decades have contributed new knowledge to our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate various stages of plant growth and development. Such information, coupled with advances in cell and molecular biology, is fundamental to crop improvement using biotechnological approaches. Two volumes constitute the present work. The ?rst, comprising 22 chapters, commences with introductions relating to gene regulatory models for plant dev- opment and crop improvement, particularly the use of Arabidopsis as a model plant. These chapters are followed by speci?c topics that focus on different developmental aspects associated with vegetative and reproductive phases of the life cycle of a plant. Six chapters discuss vegetative growth and development. Their contents consider topics such as shoot branching, bud dormancy and growth, the devel- ment of roots, nodules and tubers, and senescence. The reproductive phase of plant development is in 14 chapters that present topics such as ?oral organ init- tion and the regulation of ?owering, the development of male and female gametes, pollen germination and tube growth, fertilization, fruit development and ripening, seed development, dormancy, germination, and apomixis. Male sterility and self-incompatibility are also discussed.

This text, concisely sets out the fundamentals required by students in this rapidly growing field. Plant Molecular Genetics is split into four parts: the first deals with the structure and inheritance of plant genomes; the second with the biology of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and its use in plant transformation; the third with key topics in plant molecular biology, including nitrogen fixation, the effect of light on plant development, flowering, breeding systems and disease resistance. The final section provides an overview of plant biotechnology, including a discussion of its future prospects.

A benchmark text, Developmental Genetics and Plant Evolution integrates the recent revolution in the molecular-developmental genetics of plants with mainstream evolutionary thought. It reflects the increasing cooperation between strongly genomics-influenced researchers, with their strong grasp of technology, and evolutionary morphogenetists and sys