Product Description

Our image of plants is changing dramatically away from passive entities merely subject to environmental forces and organisms that are designed solely for the accumulation of photosynthate. Plants are revealing themselves to be dynamic and highly sensitive organisms that actively and competitively forage for limited resources, both above and below ground, organisms that accurately gauge their circumstances, use sophisticated cost-benefit analysis, and take clear actions to mitigate and control diverse environmental threats. Moreover, plants are also capable of complex recognition of self and non-self and are territorial in behavior. They are as sophisticated in behavior as animals but their potential has been masked because it operates on time scales many orders of magnitude less than those of animals. Plants are sessile organisms. As such, the only alternative to a rapidly changing environment is rapid adaptation. This book will focus on all these new and exciting aspects of plant biology.

Product Description
Large regions of the world are regularly burnt eitherdeliberately or naturally. However, despite the widespread occurrenceof suchfire-prone ecosystems, and considerable body of research onplantpopulation biology in relation to fire, until now there haveonlybeen limited attempts at a coherent conceptual synthesis of thefieldfor use by students or researchers. ... Read more

Product Description
Scientific progress hinges on continual discovery and theextension of previous discoveries. The important series of volumesDiscoveries in Plant Biology is specially compiled to provide amicrocosmic atlas of the landmark discoveries that span the breadth ofplant biology. Written by renowned plant biologists, the papersdescribe how classic discoveries were made and how they have served asthe basis for subsequent breakthroughs.

The 24 chapters in this third volume describe discoveries whichcontribute to the foundations of modern plant biology. Thecontributors, many of whom personally lit the way, bring readers backin time as if on a journey to retrace the paths and rethink the ideasthey followed. These guided tours on how to decipher the natural lawswill lead to an appreciation of the development of each field fromsimple concepts to an advanced multidisciplinary field of today. Thisvolume will be of special interest to botanists, biochemists, plantphysiologists and geneticists, and of general interest to those whoare still fascinated by how discoveries are made. ... Read more

Product Description

BIOLOGY is an authoritative majors textbook focusing on evolution as a unifying theme. Volume I covers Chemistry, Cell Biology, and Genetics; Volume II covers Plant and Animal Biology; and Volume III covers Evolution, Diversity, and Ecology.

Product Description
This is the first book to present a comprehensive and advanced discussion on the latest insights into plant stress biology. Starting with general aspects of biotic as well as abiotic stresses, this handbook and ready reference moves on to focus on topics of stress hormones, technical approaches such as proteomics, transcriptomics and genomics, and their integration into systemic modeling. This book is a valuable resource for researchers as well as professionals not just in plant sciences but also in cell and molecular biology as well as biotechnology. ... Read more

Product Description
By using an issues-oriented approach Volume 4 ? Plant Structure and Function from Biology:The Unity and Diversity of Life, 12e grabs student interest with real-life issues that hit home. This text includes new coverage and pedagogy that encourages students to think critically about hot-button issues and includes outstanding new features that take students beyond memorization and encourage them to ask questions in new ways as they learn to interpret data. ... Read more

Product Description
Erich Grotewold has assembled a team of leading plant scientists to describe in detail the most commonly used methods for investigating plant gene function in a wide variety of plants, during plant pathogen interactions, and even in algae. These readily reproducible protocols include computational, molecular, and genetic methodologies designed for both general and specific problems. Here the reader will learn about powerful computational and statistical tools to help predict gene function either on the basis of comparative genomics, or from the analysis of complex genome sequences. Numerous loss-of-function and gain-of-function techniques for discovering gene function are presented in step-by-step detail. ... Read more

Product Description
The increased knowledge about the structure of genomes in a number of species, about the complexity of transcriptomes, and the rapid growth in knowledge about mutant phenotypes have set off the large scale use of transgenes to answer basic biological questions, and to generate new crops and novel products.This volume includes twelve chapters, which to variable degrees describe the use of transgenic plants to explore possibilities and approaches for the modification of plant metabolism, adaptation or development.The interests of the authors range from tool development, to basic biochemical know-how about the engineering of enzymes, to exploring avenues for the modification of complex multigenic pathways, and include several examples for the engineering of specific pathways in different organs and developmental stages.

* Prologue by Paul K. Stumpf and Eric E. Conn
* Incorporates new concepts and insights in plant biochemistry and biology
* Provides a conceptual framework regarding the challenges faced in engineering pathways
* Discusses potential in engineering of metabolic end-products that are of vast economical importance including genetic engineering of cellulose, seed storage proteins, and edible and industrial oils ... Read more

Product Description
Annual Plant Reviews, Volume 23

A much clearer picture is now emerging of the fine structure of the plant cuticle and its surface, the composition of cuticular waxes and the biosynthetic pathways leading to them. Studies assessing the impact of UV radiation on plant life have emphasized the role of the cuticle and underlying epidermis as optical filters for solar radiation. The field concerned with the diffusive transport of lipophilic organic non-electrolytes across the plant cuticle has reached a state of maturity. A new paradigm has recently been proposed for the diffusion of polar compounds and water across the cuticle. In the context of plant ecophysiology, cuticular transpiration can now be placed in the perspective of whole-leaf water relations. New and unexpected roles have been assigned to the cuticle in plant development and pollen-stigma interactions. Finally, much progress has been made in understanding the cuticle as a specific and extraordinary substrate for the interactions of the plant with microorganisms, fungi and insects.



This volume details the major developments of recent years in this important interdisciplinary area. It is directed at researchers and professionals in plant biochemistry, plant physiology, plant ecology, phytopathology and environmental microbiology, in both the academic and industrial sectors. ... Read more

Product Description
The second edition of this popular textbook has been substantially revised and updated to take into account the rapid advances in research over the last few years. The authors have retained the basic format, whilst some chapters have been updated and others completely rewritten - this includes new sections on protein targeting, chloroplast DNA, the mitochondrial genome, developmental regulation of gene expression and the latest information on Rhizobium, Agrobacterium, and plant viruses. The substantial revision of chapter nine reflects the many new developments in the area of plant genetic engineering. The inclusion of many new diagrams complements the text. This book should be of interest to advanced undergraduates and postgraduates in plant physiology and biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics and biotechnology. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a broad but provocative examination of the evolution of plants from the earliest forms of life to the development of our present flora. Taking a fresh, modern approach to a subject often treated very stuffily, the book incorporates many recent studies on the morphological evolution of plants, enlivens the subject with current research on ancient DNA and other biomolecular markers, and places plant evolution in the context of climate change and mass extinction.It is written to be accessible to undergraduates, so, for example, geological time is discussed in terms of 'millions of years ago' as well as by the names of the ages, and English equivalents of plant names are prefered, e.g. seed plants (instead of gymnosperms), flowering plants (instead of angiosperms). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Good work
A well explained evolution of plants linked with the major enviroment changes ocurred along Earth history. You end up learning alot of botanical concepts and undestanding the different evolutionary reasons which led to the diversity of extant plants. Very interesting.

a very good book
A very good book with several important information about history and evolution of plants. I really thank to the author, but I also sincerely suggest a review of the book, because there are some formatting minor errors.

Wonderfully written book.
This is from the my perspective as a basic research scientist and sometimes informal hiker and naturalist who never took zoology or botany too seriously, but on a whim wanted to know more about plant evolution.
This is a wonderful book. It is engagingly written, and more importantly isn't a litany of facts, but rather discusses the topic in the context of biomes, geology, and the evolutionary solutions reached by plants.
One small modification would be useful. Although the book is remarkably jargon free a few more terms in the glossary would have been useful to the non specialist. This said, as a non-specialist I read this book cover to cover and highly enjoyed it.

Fossil plants
This is a user friendly sized book reviewing the evolution of plants. The oldest plants are found in rocks 3,500 million years old, the stromatolites and prokaryotes. From that beginning the book describes the evolution of the mosses and ferns, and the living trees with the longest geologic history: Cycads, and Ginkgos. The rest of the book describes the evolution of Gymnosperms and Angiosperms and flowering plants.

Well written and comprehensive, but not encyclopedic. I enjoyed reading and refering to it.

... Read more

Product Description
Green Plants introduces readers to the plants that in habit almost every corner of the globe.Find out what plants need to stay healthy, learn about how we use plants in everyday life for food and medicine, and discover how plants reproduce.This Biology series for students of 11-14 years offers accessible introduction to the science syllabuses for this age range.The books complement rahter than compete with textbooks within the classroom. ... Read more

Product Description
Plant cell membranes regulate nutrient uptake, act as receptors for environmental signals, protect the cell against pathogen attack, and catalyze energy-conserving processes in the mitochondria and the chloroplasts. This book contains twenty-three chapters by specialists in various aspects of plant membrane biology, providing a view of new and recent developments in the field that will interest plant physiologists, biochemists, cell biologists, and phytochemists involved in academic or industrial research. ... Read more

Product Description
New research tools have revealed many surprising aspects of the dynamic nature of lipids and their participation in processes such as recognition, intra- and inter-cellular signalling, deterrence and defense against pathogens, membrane trafficking and protein function. This is in addition to new information on the more established roles of plant lipids as structural components of membranes and as long-term storage products. Plant lipids are also increasingly being seen as sources of a new generation of environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and renewable industrial products, including biopolymers and high-grade lubricants.
Plant Lipids: Biology, Utilisation and Manipulation provides a broad overview of plant lipid research and its many applications. Linking various disciplines, the editor brings together researchers from major international laboratories to review the history and current state of progress in this quickly evolving field.
The text starts by providing a fascinating historical perspective on the study of plant lipids, from its inception as a branch of alchemy in the seventeenth century to the current post-genomic era. It then offers a detailed discussion on the formation, modification and utilization of fatty acids. This is followed by an exploration of the major classes of macromolecular structures formed by plant lipids, including bilayer membranes and storage bodies. From there, the contributors consider other types of macromolecular lipid assemblies in plants, examining proteins and the key plant lipid structure - the cuticle. The final chapters look at diverse classes of plant lipids that are linked to various aspects of signaling.
This text provides an excellent resource for researchers and professionals in plant biochemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology and genetics, in both the academic and industrial sectors. It also meets the needs of students looking for a comprehensive introduction to this field, as well as direction for future study and research. ... Read more

Product Description
This textbook outlines the techniques available in plant molecular biology and their practical applications. Details of useful protocols are included, but the emphasis is on the identification and definition of the major opportunities to apply molecular biology in the agricultural and plant sciences. Wherever possible, specific examples of practical applications are provided to illustrate the potential uses of the technique. This book should be of interest to undergraduates and professionals in plant sciences, molecular biology, crop improvement, agricultural sciences, bacteriology and evolutionary biology. ... Read more

Product Description
The plant seed is the source of most human nutrition, andclosely related to the development of human civilization. This bookrepresents a comprehensive overview of the growth and development ofthe seed, and the major storage reserves of the seed: protein, starch,oil. The contributing authors comprise a select group of world expertson these topics who present up-to-date overviews of the moleculargenetic mechanisms controlling development of the embryo, suspensor,cotyledons and the endosperm, and embryo maturation and seeddesiccation. The special features of distinct types of storageproteins, oils and starches are described, as well as mutations thataffect their quantity and quality. Biotechnological manipulation ofseed storage materials is discussed. The book is intended for graduateand advanced undergraduate students, and should provide a useful textfor courses in plant development and molecular biology. ... Read more

Product Description
Much of the history of biology has been a matter of working with animals and plants. From Mendel’s grasses to Barbara McClintock’s maize, as well as a menagerie of animals, Jim Endersby tells their story. ... Read more