The Molecular Life of Plants

by Jones, Russell L.; Ougham, Helen; Thomas, Howard; Waaland, Susan

• ISBN13: 9780470870129
• ISBN10: 0470870125
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-11-05
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

The Molecular Life of Plants presents students with an innovative, integrated approach to plant science. It looks at the processes and mechanisms that underlie each stage of plant life and describes the intricate network of cellular, molecular, biochemical and physiological events through which plants make life on land possible. The book follows the life of the plant, starting with the seed, progressing through germination to the seedling and mature plant, and ending with reproduction and senescence. This "seed-to-seed" approach will provide students with a logical framework for acquiring the knowledge needed to fully understand plant growth and development. Written by a highly respected and experienced author team The Molecular Life of Plants will prove invaluable to students needing a comprehensive, integrated introduction to the subject across a variety of disciplines including plant science, biological science, horticulture and agriculture.

Author Biography

Russell Jones was born in Wales and completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He spent one year as a postdoctoral fellow at the Michigan State University before being appointed to the faculty of the Department of Botany at the University of California at Berkeley in 1966. He is now a Professor of the Graduate School at UC–Berkeley. 

Helen Ougham has a B.A. in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. She has carried out research in plant science for over 25 years at the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research and Aberystwyth University, and she teaches regularly on graduate courses in genetics and genomics at the University of Birmingham and in crop science at the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, Zaragoza.

Howard Thomas studied at Aberystwyth University and is a DSc in the University of Wales. He was head of cell and molecular biology research and member of the management board at the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research. He has held visiting professorships at the Universities of California, Bern and Zurich and is currently Emeritus Professor of Biology at Aberystwyth University.

Susan Waaland earned a B.A. in Biology at Earlham College in Indiana and a Ph.D. in Botany at the University of California at Berkeley. She was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington and continued there as a faculty member in Botany and Biology. She spent a year in the Botany Department at the University of California at Davis through the NSF Visiting Professorships for Women Program. She is now an Emeritus Lecturer in Biology at the University of Washington.

Table of Contents

Part I     Origins

Chapter 1            Plant Life: A Primer

Chapter 2            Molecules, Metabolism and Energy

Chapter 3:           Genome Organization and Expression

Chapter 4:           Cell Architecture

 

Part II     Germination

Chapter 5              Membrane Transport and Intracellular Protein Trafficking

Chapter 6              Seed to Seedling: Germination and Mobilization of Seed Reserves

Chapter 7             Metabolism of Reserves: Respiration and Gluconeogenesis

 

Part III  Emergence

Chapter 8            Light Perception and Transduction

Chapter 9            Photosynthesis and Photorespiration

               

Part IV Growth

Chapter 10          Hormones and Other Signals

Chapter 11          The Cell Cycle and Meristems

Chapter 12          Growth and Development

Chapter  13         Mineral Nutrient Acquisition and Assimilation

 

Part V                      Maturation

Chapter 14            Intercellular and Long Distance Transport

Chapter 15            Environmental Interactions

 

Part VI  Renewal

Chapter 16            Flowering and Sexual Reproduction

Chapter 17            Development and Dormancy of Resting Structures

Chapter 18            Senescence, Ripening and Cell Death