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Pinton R, Varanini Z, Nannipieri P, eds. 2001. The rhizosphere. Biochemistry and organic substances at the soil-plant interface. 424 pp. New York: Marcel Dekker. £175 (hardback).
334
Book Reviews
Many of the line drawings are overwhelmed with label lines. In illustrations which are universally drawn with a single line thickness, it would have been helpful to inscribe a ®ner line for labels, thereby leaving a less cluttered drawing. Many of the pages of illustration present a useful assemblage of structural themes, and herein lies the value of the book. This is a student's reference for the declining formal ®rst-year botany degree course, and the expanding adult education course; it could provide some inspiration for content of a course in either sphere, with some useful example plants and structures. L I T E R AT U R E C I T E D Hickey M, King C. 1997. Common families of ¯owering plants. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tootill E. 1984. The Penguin dictionary of botany. London: Penguin Books.
Simon Thornton-Wood # 2001 Annals of Botany Company doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1455 Pinton R, Varanini Z, Nannipieri P, eds. 2001. The rhizosphere. Biochemistry and organic substances at the soilplant interface. 424 pp. New York: Marcel Dekker. £175 (hardback). The subtitle, `Biochemistry and organic substances at the soil-plant interface', neatly summarizes the theme of the book. The rhizosphere is a concept that impinges on many areas of scienti®c endeavour; plant biochemistry and physiology, plant ecology, biocontrol strategies, phytoremediation, soil science and biology are some examples. Central to all these areas is the release and dynamics of organic compounds from the root. This book will, therefore, be of considerable interest to a wide range of scienti®c disciplines. The information is set at a general but high level, post-graduate and above, with each of the chapters oering an up-to-date review of the current state of the art. A glance through the references showed that citations went up to 1999. A feature of the book is the high quality of the diagrams and ®gures, with some superb diagrammatic representations of the mechanisms of root exudation, for example, but also high quality electron micrographs, mathematical model output and root ®ngerprints. The graphics certainly enhance the text. The individual chapters, all contributed by recognized authorities in their particular ®eld, can be grouped into general subject areas, although there appears to be no signi®cance to the order in which they appear in the book.
An introductory chapter by the editors de®nes the spatial and functional features of the rhizosphere. Two chapters are concerned with the exudation process, speci®cally the types, amounts and functions of exudates, and the control of exudation by plant physiological factors. The consequences of exudation are covered by chapters on the eects of exudates on microbial communities; on mineralization/ immobilization in the rhizosphere; and on the function of siderophores. Speci®c examples of microbial events in the rhizosphere are detailed in chapters on mycorrhizae and on the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis, while signalling between plants and microbes in the rhizosphere is the subject of a separate chapter. Modelling the rhizosphere, and methodology for carbon ¯ow and microbial population dynamics are more specialist chapters which provide an overview of these more applied aspects of rhizosphere research. Finally, there is a chapter on the direct and indirect eects of soil humic substances on plant growth and nutrition. At ®rst, this seems to be a little out of place, more to do with humic substances aecting plants than with the rhizosphere and exudation. However, on re¯ection, most of the interactions occur in the rhizosphere, and those interactions are described most elegantly and with the aid of very informative graphics. This chapter, as is true of most of the chapters, serves as an introduction to more specialized areas of research. The real bene®t of this book is that it will give a researcher in one scienti®c discipline a detailed overview of another aspect of the rhizosphere. The only problem is that it will cost them £175Ðthis does seem excessively expensive. The book might be good, but is it that good? Bryan Griths # 2001 Annals of Botany Company
doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1413 Yunus M, Pathre U, Mohanty P, eds. 2001. Probing photosynthesis. Mechanisms, regulation and adaptation. London: Taylor and Francis. £85 (hb). This book is dedicated to Dr P. V. Sane on his retirement as Director of the National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, India, and from a distinguished career devoted to understanding fundamental processes in photosynthesis. Sane, together with many scientists trained or working in India, has made a substantial contribution to the understanding of photosynthetic mechanisms and this book further develops the theme in a collection of 27 review articles by internationally recognized authors from India and elsewhere. The book starts with a very informative synopsis of Dr Sane's work by S. K. Sinha, which shows how wide was Sane's appreciation of the rami®cations of photosynthesis, so that, for example, the Biomass Research Centre in India owes greatly to his foresight and drive, as well as to his work on cellular and subcellular processes. Another interesting and very useful general analysis of selected `Milestones in photosynthesis research' is given by
Book Reviews
Many of the line drawings are overwhelmed with label lines. In illustrations which are universally drawn with a single line thickness, it would have been helpful to inscribe a ®ner line for labels, thereby leaving a less cluttered drawing. Many of the pages of illustration present a useful assemblage of structural themes, and herein lies the value of the book. This is a student's reference for the declining formal ®rst-year botany degree course, and the expanding adult education course; it could provide some inspiration for content of a course in either sphere, with some useful example plants and structures. L I T E R AT U R E C I T E D Hickey M, King C. 1997. Common families of ¯owering plants. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tootill E. 1984. The Penguin dictionary of botany. London: Penguin Books.
Simon Thornton-Wood # 2001 Annals of Botany Company doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1455 Pinton R, Varanini Z, Nannipieri P, eds. 2001. The rhizosphere. Biochemistry and organic substances at the soilplant interface. 424 pp. New York: Marcel Dekker. £175 (hardback). The subtitle, `Biochemistry and organic substances at the soil-plant interface', neatly summarizes the theme of the book. The rhizosphere is a concept that impinges on many areas of scienti®c endeavour; plant biochemistry and physiology, plant ecology, biocontrol strategies, phytoremediation, soil science and biology are some examples. Central to all these areas is the release and dynamics of organic compounds from the root. This book will, therefore, be of considerable interest to a wide range of scienti®c disciplines. The information is set at a general but high level, post-graduate and above, with each of the chapters oering an up-to-date review of the current state of the art. A glance through the references showed that citations went up to 1999. A feature of the book is the high quality of the diagrams and ®gures, with some superb diagrammatic representations of the mechanisms of root exudation, for example, but also high quality electron micrographs, mathematical model output and root ®ngerprints. The graphics certainly enhance the text. The individual chapters, all contributed by recognized authorities in their particular ®eld, can be grouped into general subject areas, although there appears to be no signi®cance to the order in which they appear in the book.
An introductory chapter by the editors de®nes the spatial and functional features of the rhizosphere. Two chapters are concerned with the exudation process, speci®cally the types, amounts and functions of exudates, and the control of exudation by plant physiological factors. The consequences of exudation are covered by chapters on the eects of exudates on microbial communities; on mineralization/ immobilization in the rhizosphere; and on the function of siderophores. Speci®c examples of microbial events in the rhizosphere are detailed in chapters on mycorrhizae and on the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis, while signalling between plants and microbes in the rhizosphere is the subject of a separate chapter. Modelling the rhizosphere, and methodology for carbon ¯ow and microbial population dynamics are more specialist chapters which provide an overview of these more applied aspects of rhizosphere research. Finally, there is a chapter on the direct and indirect eects of soil humic substances on plant growth and nutrition. At ®rst, this seems to be a little out of place, more to do with humic substances aecting plants than with the rhizosphere and exudation. However, on re¯ection, most of the interactions occur in the rhizosphere, and those interactions are described most elegantly and with the aid of very informative graphics. This chapter, as is true of most of the chapters, serves as an introduction to more specialized areas of research. The real bene®t of this book is that it will give a researcher in one scienti®c discipline a detailed overview of another aspect of the rhizosphere. The only problem is that it will cost them £175Ðthis does seem excessively expensive. The book might be good, but is it that good? Bryan Griths # 2001 Annals of Botany Company
doi:10.1006/anbo.2001.1413 Yunus M, Pathre U, Mohanty P, eds. 2001. Probing photosynthesis. Mechanisms, regulation and adaptation. London: Taylor and Francis. £85 (hb). This book is dedicated to Dr P. V. Sane on his retirement as Director of the National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, India, and from a distinguished career devoted to understanding fundamental processes in photosynthesis. Sane, together with many scientists trained or working in India, has made a substantial contribution to the understanding of photosynthetic mechanisms and this book further develops the theme in a collection of 27 review articles by internationally recognized authors from India and elsewhere. The book starts with a very informative synopsis of Dr Sane's work by S. K. Sinha, which shows how wide was Sane's appreciation of the rami®cations of photosynthesis, so that, for example, the Biomass Research Centre in India owes greatly to his foresight and drive, as well as to his work on cellular and subcellular processes. Another interesting and very useful general analysis of selected `Milestones in photosynthesis research' is given by