Plant Cell Vacuoles

This book is the only comprehensive work, at introductory level, on plant cell vacuoles. Vacuoles are ubiquitous, multifaceted and indispensable organelles and yet they have been thinly treated in the literature to date. This is at odds with the amount of interest in vacuoles that has been expressed in the last two decades. This comprehensive work provides a solid foundation on vacuoles to an advanced level. The latest research findings have been included in all aspects of plant and yeast vacuoles. The book synthesizes all the available information on the plant cell vacuole. It includes methodologies, occurrence and diversity, structure and biochemistry of tonoplasts and molecular biology of biogenesis and diverse functions, all presented in a concise way. The tremendous surge in the genetic engineering of plants for commercial products requires a comprehension of the functions and possibilities of vacuole manipulation since most of the targets of improvement directly involve vacuoles. Thus the work will be valuable to students of plant sciences, plant breeding, cell biology and plant biotechnology, as well as advanced researchers who seek a better understanding of this vital organelle.

This book synthesizes information on the plant cell vacuole and includes methodologies, occurrence and diversity, structure and biochemistry of tonoplasts and molecular biology of biogenesis and diverse functions.

Advances in Botanical Research is a multi-volume publication that brings together reviews by recognized experts on subjects of importance to those involved in botanical research. For more than thirty years, Advances in Botanical Research has earned a reputation for excellence in the field. For those working on plant pathology, Advances in Plant Pathology has also carved a niche in the plant sciences during its decade of publication.Academic Press has merged Advances in Plant Pathology into Advances in Botanical Research. The plant science community will find that the merger of these two serials will provide one comprehensive resource for the field. To ensure complete coverage, John Andrews and Inez Tommerup, the editors of Advances in Plant Pathology, have joined the editorial board of the new series, which will include equal coverage of plant pathology and botany in both thematic and mixed volumes. The first few volumes of the new series will be slanted toward botany or plant pathology; however, future eclectic volumes will be fully integrated.The resulting synergy of these two serials greatly benefits the plant science community by providing a more comprehensive resource under one roof. The joint aim is to continue to include the very best articles, thereby maintaining the status of a high impact factor review series.

The first compilation of a wealth of knowledge on tobacco BY-2 cells, often cited as the HeLa cell line of higher plants. Basic issues of cell cycle progression, cytokinesis, cell organization and factors that are involved in these processes are covered in detail. Since the tobacco cell line is used as a tool for research in molecular and cellular biology, several chapters on such studies are also included. Further, changes of primary and secondary metabolites during culture and factors that affect these processes are treated. Last but not least, the so far unpublished historical background of the BY-2 cell line is described. This volume is a must for any scientist working in the field of plant biology.

The papers in this book, illustating the present status of knowledge related to the vacuolar compartment of fungi and plants, were presented at an Advanced Research Workshop entitled "Plant Vacuoles. Their Importance in Plant Cell Compartmentation and their Applications in Biotechnology" held in Sophia-Antipolis, France, on July 6-11, 1986. The organizers were fortunate in being able to assemble representative leaders of all the above fields of research concerning this compartment. These scientists from all over the world were invited to present their latest results and to exchange views and plans for continued research in this highly exciting field, which is very important for the improving the industrial aspect of plant biotechnology related to the production of molecules with a high added value. To ensure maximal flexibility and opportunity for dicussion, the chairmen of the various sessions were asked to introduce their respective topics, after which they were given the freedom of organizing their sessions in a more or less improvised fashion, with brief presentations of relevant new information by participants following a schedule fixed relatively shortly before the workshop. This procedure proved to be highly successful, giving rise to most productive and stimulating discussions among the representatives of the various fields.

Research into plant vacuoles has, over the last 5 years, been injected with new data which have already radically changed our concept of the vacuolar compartment in plant cells. In fact, we should no longer speak of the vacuole, but rather of vacuolar compartments. This is a revolutionary change in the way in which the plant cell has traditionally been presented in the biological literature. Vacuolar Compartments is a timely volume that provides a broad overview of our current understanding of the roles of vacuolar compartments in plant cells. Chapters focus on individual function of plant vacuoles and the tonoplast machinery that supports them. Additional chapters present up-to-date information on the identity of different vacuole types and the traffic of proteins to them. The book also provides a basis for comparing the plant system to vacuoles in other organisms. The present challenge is to understand how the separate organelles in the system are generated and maintained by the cell, and to explain at a biochemical level the functions of each vacuole type and the mechanisms by which they are achieved. Vacuolar Compartments is the first book to provide this perspective.