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Lawlor DW. 2001. Photosynthesis. 3rd edn. 386 pp. Oxford: Bios. £27.99 (softback).
852
Book Reviews
doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1417 Hedley CL. 2001. Carbohydrates in grain legume seeds. Improving nutritional quality and agronomic characteristics. 322 pp. Wallingford: CAB International. £60.00 (hardback). Some 60 domesticated species of grain legume are grown in temperate and tropical countries, with total yields exceeded only by those of cereals. Nevertheless, they have been largely neglected in research terms, with the notable exception of soybean. While grain legumes are widely regarded as sources of protein (or protein and oil in soybean and groundnut), the carbohydrate components (mainly starch) which can account for over 60% of the seed dry weight in species such as pea, lentil and cowpea have been largely ignored. This new volume aims to remedy this situation, by focusing on the carbohydrates of the major grain legumes. It brings together contributions from over 40 European scientists, including many from Eastern Europe, who previously formed part of a European Union-supported `Carbohydrate Biotechnology Network for Grain Legumes'. Although marshalling such a large number of participants could be a recipe for disaster, the editor has simpli®ed the task by appointing six sub-editors to collate the contributions on speci®c topics. The result is a volume that is well balanced, very readable and attractively presented, with numerous half-tone ®gures, diagrams and tables. The volume is introduced by the editor, Cli Hedley, from the John Innes Centre (Norwich, UK), who provides brief descriptions of the species of major signi®cance (soybean, lupins, chickpea, mung bean, pigeon pea, jack bean, common bean, faba bean, lentil, cowpea and pea) and summarizes data on production, consumption and carbohydrate content and composition. This is followed by six more detailed chapters, each combining multiple contributions. These cover aspects of carbohydrate chemistry, the role of carbohydrates in animal nutrition, starch structure and its role in processing, seed physiology and biochemistry (accumulation, biosynthesis and biological role of carbohydrates), legume biotechnology (including regeneration, somaclonal variation and genetic manipulation) and breeding and agronomy. Finally, Cli Hedley provides a brief concluding chapter discussing strategies for manipulating the carbohydrate composition of grain legumes. The volume is written at a level that is accessible to students as well as active research scientists, while the modest price means that the latter may wish to purchase personal copies. I certainly expect to refer to it frequently as it brings together a wealth of information on an important group of crops that may ®nally be receiving the attention it merits. Peter R. Shewry # 2001 Annals of Botany Company
doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1418 Lawlor DW. 2001. Photosynthesis. 3rd edn. 386 pp. Oxford: Bios. £27.99 (softback).
Photosynthesis is a rare example of a single-authored text that covers all the facets of photosynthesis (molecular, physiological and environmental processes) in a concise way. It is always dicult to present a rapidly advancing ®eld such as photosynthesis in book form without it being out of date before it reaches the publishers. This book is commendable in its eort to avoid this, by being both current and very comprehensive. Its real strength lies in its detailed coverage of the biological and biophysical principles that underlie photosynthesis. The book comprises 13 well structured chapters with an emphasis on new conceptual ideas (structure of the light harvesting complexes, rotational mechanism of the coupling factor complex, etc.). I found these chapters well articulated and enriched by many well-thought-out schemes and ®gures. The author has done much more than simply assemble a collection of facts; he has chosen the topics wisely and one ends up with a broader understanding and a more complete picture of photosynthesis. A large spectrum of topics is covered, from light absorption to environmental considerations. Perhaps the most useful aspects of the book are not only the detail within each chapter but also the breadth of material covered. The book starts with an attractive outline of the photosynthetic process and goes on to describe the characteristics of light and energy capture in photosynthesis, and the structure of the photosynthetic apparatus. Chapters 5 and 6 deal with the structure, membrane organization and energetics of the photosynthetic electron chain in bacteria and plants. Chapter 7 examines in detail the basic mechanism of CO2 assimilation and the associated processes including light activation by thioredoxin, the exchange of metabolites between chloroplast and cytosol, and photosynthetic assimilation of nitrogen and sulfur. Chapter 8 examines in a dynamic way the metabolism of photosynthetic products (starch, sucrose, lipids, glycolate, pigments etc.) with an emphasis on the interaction between dark respiration, photorespiration, photosynthesis and the adenylate systems. The basic features of C4 and crassulacean metabolism are described in chapter 9. The plant nuclear and chloroplast genomes, the links between them and how this genetic information leads to the photosynthetic system are considered in chapter 10. The key problem of the transport of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to plant leaves is carefully analysed in chapter 11. This chapter also describes in simple terms the technologies that allow the measurement of leaf water vapour and CO2 exchange. Chapter 12 deals with the response of C3 and C4 photosynthesis to the environment, including CO2 , light, temperature, etc. The way in which photosynthesis interacts with other processes at the scale of vegetation, in the natural environment, is considered in the last chapter. I found that several relevant and interesting examplesÐsuch as a semiquantitative analysis of the photosynthetic system in a C3 plant leafÐcould be readily incorporated into my biochemistry lecture. A major drawback to the book is that there are too few references to the primary literature. I highly recommend using this book as a companion to relevant courses in plant biochemistry and plant ecology. Not only will it help scientists and students to understand
Book Reviews photosynthesis from the cell to the ®eld, but it also provides a starting point for further study. However, the text will not be appropriate for courses that focus only on plant molecular biology, which probably require deeper coverage than that provided by chapter 10. R. Douce # 2001 Annals of Botany Company
doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1401 Orcutt DM, Nilsen ET. 2000. The physiology of plants under stressÐsoil and biotic factors. 684 pp. New York: John Wiley & Sons. £89.50 (hardback). This book and its companion volume on abiotic factors is an updated and much expanded successor to The physiology of plants under stress by Hale and Orcutt (1987). The authors aim to provide both a textbook and a reference source on plant-stress physiology for students of, and researchers in, plant physiology, plant pathology and plant ecophysiology. Each chapter is accompanied by a summary that lists the main points covered in the preceding chapter. These will undoubtedly be useful to students preparing essays or short talks, although impatient readers may be tempted to read only the summary. Most chapters contain a good selection of references to recent research articles. I was surprised that the further reading sections did not include more references to articles in the `Annual reviews' series and that Mineral nutrition of higher plants (Marchner, 1995) was not included in the chapter on mineral nutrient stress. In common with many text books based on courses given in American universities, there are `self-study' questions at the end of each chapter. These are thought-provoking but I somehow doubt that many students will take time to read them. The book is divided into four sections. The ®rst, `Soil processes and plant stress physiology' has chapters on general concepts in ecophysiology, soil/plant relationships, nutrient de®ciency, mycorrhizas and salinity stress. I found this section the least satisfactory, largely because there are excellent up-to-date textbooks available on at least three of these topics. While mycorrhizas are important, it would have been nice to read a general discussion of symbioses between plants and soil micro-organisms. The second section, `Biotic factors and plants stress physiology' contains chapters on plant pathogens, herbivory, allelochemistry, competition and parasitic vascular plants. These latter two chapters are interesting because the extent to which plants interact with each other is not always appreciated. The chemical responses of plants to biotic stresses are described in great detail; this information will probably be useful to researchers but may be daunting to undergraduates. The third section, `Anthropogenic-induced stresses' covers soil pollutants, particularly heavy metals and pesticides, and atmospheric pollution. In this chapter, the authors faced the dicult task of deciding how to de®ne a pollutant since many of the elements that are considered to be pollutants when they aect humans or their environment are found naturally. In general, these chapters gave a
853
good account of the eects of soil and atmospheric pollutants on plants, although I would have liked more speci®c examples. The fourth section summarizes trends in ecophysiology and gives an excellent overview of the topic in one of the most readable chapters in the book. The book contains a great deal of interesting information but it would have been much easier to understand if the text had been accompanied by photographs. Unfortunately the book has been printed on poor quality paper so that many of the ®gures are slightly blurred and the text shows through the paper. Although the content is good, I found this book dicult to read. It is not written in plain English, and this is compounded by grammatical errors. The book will be a useful reference source but many readers may be deterred by the style. S. M. Ayling # 2001 Annals of Botany Company
doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1404 Ridge RW, Emons AMC. 2000. Root hairs: cell and molecular biology. 336 pp. Heidelberg: Springer Verlag. US$ 225.00 (hardback). Ridge and Emons have compiled 18 chapters on diverse aspects of root hairs, bringing together the current status of our knowledge of these highly interesting plant cells which grow, like pollen tubes, via polarized tip growth. The book, which to my knowledge is the ®rst to be devoted solely to root hairs, highlights root hairs as being an excellent model system for plant cell biology research. On the other hand, the importance of root hairs for plants is still obscure, and while the fact that root hairs are dispensable for adult plants is an excellent feature for geneticists, it is an enigmatic phenomenon for plant physiologists. The book is meant to be structured into four major areas: cell biology, physiology, genetics and symbiosis. However, the order of chapters does not seem to follow this plan and after the ®rst three cell biology chapters devoted to ultrastructure (Chapter 1), microtubules (Chapter 2), and the actin cytoskeleton (Chapter 3), there are two methodological chapters (Chapters 4 and 5) which would be more appropriately placed at the end of the book. Chapter 1 surveys ultrastructure of growing root hairs, highlighting vacuoles, endoplasmic reticulum, and secretory/endocytic vesicles. Unfortunately, cell walls are not covered in this chapter (or elsewhere in the book). Chapter 2 suers from a lack of recently published studies on microtubules in root hairs: most of the references cited in this chapter are from before the mid-1990s. Chapter 3 reviews the plant actin cytoskeleton in general and identi®es this dynamic framework as the `backbone', `highway' and `morphogenic instrument' of root hairs. Most of this chapter is devoted to eects of Rhizobium bacteria on the actin cytoskeleton. Chapter 4 introduces cell cleaving methods suitable for studying surfaces of cells like root hairs. These techniques are extremely valuable for studies into structures and processes pertinent to the intact plasma
Book Reviews
doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1417 Hedley CL. 2001. Carbohydrates in grain legume seeds. Improving nutritional quality and agronomic characteristics. 322 pp. Wallingford: CAB International. £60.00 (hardback). Some 60 domesticated species of grain legume are grown in temperate and tropical countries, with total yields exceeded only by those of cereals. Nevertheless, they have been largely neglected in research terms, with the notable exception of soybean. While grain legumes are widely regarded as sources of protein (or protein and oil in soybean and groundnut), the carbohydrate components (mainly starch) which can account for over 60% of the seed dry weight in species such as pea, lentil and cowpea have been largely ignored. This new volume aims to remedy this situation, by focusing on the carbohydrates of the major grain legumes. It brings together contributions from over 40 European scientists, including many from Eastern Europe, who previously formed part of a European Union-supported `Carbohydrate Biotechnology Network for Grain Legumes'. Although marshalling such a large number of participants could be a recipe for disaster, the editor has simpli®ed the task by appointing six sub-editors to collate the contributions on speci®c topics. The result is a volume that is well balanced, very readable and attractively presented, with numerous half-tone ®gures, diagrams and tables. The volume is introduced by the editor, Cli Hedley, from the John Innes Centre (Norwich, UK), who provides brief descriptions of the species of major signi®cance (soybean, lupins, chickpea, mung bean, pigeon pea, jack bean, common bean, faba bean, lentil, cowpea and pea) and summarizes data on production, consumption and carbohydrate content and composition. This is followed by six more detailed chapters, each combining multiple contributions. These cover aspects of carbohydrate chemistry, the role of carbohydrates in animal nutrition, starch structure and its role in processing, seed physiology and biochemistry (accumulation, biosynthesis and biological role of carbohydrates), legume biotechnology (including regeneration, somaclonal variation and genetic manipulation) and breeding and agronomy. Finally, Cli Hedley provides a brief concluding chapter discussing strategies for manipulating the carbohydrate composition of grain legumes. The volume is written at a level that is accessible to students as well as active research scientists, while the modest price means that the latter may wish to purchase personal copies. I certainly expect to refer to it frequently as it brings together a wealth of information on an important group of crops that may ®nally be receiving the attention it merits. Peter R. Shewry # 2001 Annals of Botany Company
doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1418 Lawlor DW. 2001. Photosynthesis. 3rd edn. 386 pp. Oxford: Bios. £27.99 (softback).
Photosynthesis is a rare example of a single-authored text that covers all the facets of photosynthesis (molecular, physiological and environmental processes) in a concise way. It is always dicult to present a rapidly advancing ®eld such as photosynthesis in book form without it being out of date before it reaches the publishers. This book is commendable in its eort to avoid this, by being both current and very comprehensive. Its real strength lies in its detailed coverage of the biological and biophysical principles that underlie photosynthesis. The book comprises 13 well structured chapters with an emphasis on new conceptual ideas (structure of the light harvesting complexes, rotational mechanism of the coupling factor complex, etc.). I found these chapters well articulated and enriched by many well-thought-out schemes and ®gures. The author has done much more than simply assemble a collection of facts; he has chosen the topics wisely and one ends up with a broader understanding and a more complete picture of photosynthesis. A large spectrum of topics is covered, from light absorption to environmental considerations. Perhaps the most useful aspects of the book are not only the detail within each chapter but also the breadth of material covered. The book starts with an attractive outline of the photosynthetic process and goes on to describe the characteristics of light and energy capture in photosynthesis, and the structure of the photosynthetic apparatus. Chapters 5 and 6 deal with the structure, membrane organization and energetics of the photosynthetic electron chain in bacteria and plants. Chapter 7 examines in detail the basic mechanism of CO2 assimilation and the associated processes including light activation by thioredoxin, the exchange of metabolites between chloroplast and cytosol, and photosynthetic assimilation of nitrogen and sulfur. Chapter 8 examines in a dynamic way the metabolism of photosynthetic products (starch, sucrose, lipids, glycolate, pigments etc.) with an emphasis on the interaction between dark respiration, photorespiration, photosynthesis and the adenylate systems. The basic features of C4 and crassulacean metabolism are described in chapter 9. The plant nuclear and chloroplast genomes, the links between them and how this genetic information leads to the photosynthetic system are considered in chapter 10. The key problem of the transport of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to plant leaves is carefully analysed in chapter 11. This chapter also describes in simple terms the technologies that allow the measurement of leaf water vapour and CO2 exchange. Chapter 12 deals with the response of C3 and C4 photosynthesis to the environment, including CO2 , light, temperature, etc. The way in which photosynthesis interacts with other processes at the scale of vegetation, in the natural environment, is considered in the last chapter. I found that several relevant and interesting examplesÐsuch as a semiquantitative analysis of the photosynthetic system in a C3 plant leafÐcould be readily incorporated into my biochemistry lecture. A major drawback to the book is that there are too few references to the primary literature. I highly recommend using this book as a companion to relevant courses in plant biochemistry and plant ecology. Not only will it help scientists and students to understand
Book Reviews photosynthesis from the cell to the ®eld, but it also provides a starting point for further study. However, the text will not be appropriate for courses that focus only on plant molecular biology, which probably require deeper coverage than that provided by chapter 10. R. Douce # 2001 Annals of Botany Company
doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1401 Orcutt DM, Nilsen ET. 2000. The physiology of plants under stressÐsoil and biotic factors. 684 pp. New York: John Wiley & Sons. £89.50 (hardback). This book and its companion volume on abiotic factors is an updated and much expanded successor to The physiology of plants under stress by Hale and Orcutt (1987). The authors aim to provide both a textbook and a reference source on plant-stress physiology for students of, and researchers in, plant physiology, plant pathology and plant ecophysiology. Each chapter is accompanied by a summary that lists the main points covered in the preceding chapter. These will undoubtedly be useful to students preparing essays or short talks, although impatient readers may be tempted to read only the summary. Most chapters contain a good selection of references to recent research articles. I was surprised that the further reading sections did not include more references to articles in the `Annual reviews' series and that Mineral nutrition of higher plants (Marchner, 1995) was not included in the chapter on mineral nutrient stress. In common with many text books based on courses given in American universities, there are `self-study' questions at the end of each chapter. These are thought-provoking but I somehow doubt that many students will take time to read them. The book is divided into four sections. The ®rst, `Soil processes and plant stress physiology' has chapters on general concepts in ecophysiology, soil/plant relationships, nutrient de®ciency, mycorrhizas and salinity stress. I found this section the least satisfactory, largely because there are excellent up-to-date textbooks available on at least three of these topics. While mycorrhizas are important, it would have been nice to read a general discussion of symbioses between plants and soil micro-organisms. The second section, `Biotic factors and plants stress physiology' contains chapters on plant pathogens, herbivory, allelochemistry, competition and parasitic vascular plants. These latter two chapters are interesting because the extent to which plants interact with each other is not always appreciated. The chemical responses of plants to biotic stresses are described in great detail; this information will probably be useful to researchers but may be daunting to undergraduates. The third section, `Anthropogenic-induced stresses' covers soil pollutants, particularly heavy metals and pesticides, and atmospheric pollution. In this chapter, the authors faced the dicult task of deciding how to de®ne a pollutant since many of the elements that are considered to be pollutants when they aect humans or their environment are found naturally. In general, these chapters gave a
853
good account of the eects of soil and atmospheric pollutants on plants, although I would have liked more speci®c examples. The fourth section summarizes trends in ecophysiology and gives an excellent overview of the topic in one of the most readable chapters in the book. The book contains a great deal of interesting information but it would have been much easier to understand if the text had been accompanied by photographs. Unfortunately the book has been printed on poor quality paper so that many of the ®gures are slightly blurred and the text shows through the paper. Although the content is good, I found this book dicult to read. It is not written in plain English, and this is compounded by grammatical errors. The book will be a useful reference source but many readers may be deterred by the style. S. M. Ayling # 2001 Annals of Botany Company
doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1404 Ridge RW, Emons AMC. 2000. Root hairs: cell and molecular biology. 336 pp. Heidelberg: Springer Verlag. US$ 225.00 (hardback). Ridge and Emons have compiled 18 chapters on diverse aspects of root hairs, bringing together the current status of our knowledge of these highly interesting plant cells which grow, like pollen tubes, via polarized tip growth. The book, which to my knowledge is the ®rst to be devoted solely to root hairs, highlights root hairs as being an excellent model system for plant cell biology research. On the other hand, the importance of root hairs for plants is still obscure, and while the fact that root hairs are dispensable for adult plants is an excellent feature for geneticists, it is an enigmatic phenomenon for plant physiologists. The book is meant to be structured into four major areas: cell biology, physiology, genetics and symbiosis. However, the order of chapters does not seem to follow this plan and after the ®rst three cell biology chapters devoted to ultrastructure (Chapter 1), microtubules (Chapter 2), and the actin cytoskeleton (Chapter 3), there are two methodological chapters (Chapters 4 and 5) which would be more appropriately placed at the end of the book. Chapter 1 surveys ultrastructure of growing root hairs, highlighting vacuoles, endoplasmic reticulum, and secretory/endocytic vesicles. Unfortunately, cell walls are not covered in this chapter (or elsewhere in the book). Chapter 2 suers from a lack of recently published studies on microtubules in root hairs: most of the references cited in this chapter are from before the mid-1990s. Chapter 3 reviews the plant actin cytoskeleton in general and identi®es this dynamic framework as the `backbone', `highway' and `morphogenic instrument' of root hairs. Most of this chapter is devoted to eects of Rhizobium bacteria on the actin cytoskeleton. Chapter 4 introduces cell cleaving methods suitable for studying surfaces of cells like root hairs. These techniques are extremely valuable for studies into structures and processes pertinent to the intact plasma