This volume examines the molecular basis of all aspects of cell division and cytokinesis in plants. It features 19 chapters contributed by world experts in the specific research fields, providing the most comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge on cell division control in plants. The editors are veterans in the field of plant molecular biology and highly respected worldwide.

In recent years, the study of the plant cell cycle has become of major interest, not only to scientists working on cell division sensu strictu , but also to scientists dealing with plant hormones, development and environmental effects on growth. The book The Plant Cell Cycle is a very timely contribution to this exploding field. Outstanding contributors reviewed, not only knowledge on the most important classes of cell cycle regulators, but also summarized the various processes in which cell cycle control plays a pivotal role. The central role of the cell cycle makes this book an absolute must for plant molecular biologists.

This monograph on plant cell division provides a detailed overview of the molecular events which commit cells to mitosis or which affect, or effect mitosis.

Control points within the cell cycle. The organization of replicons. Enzymic controls of DNA replication. DNA replication in relation to DNA C values. Chromatin structure, gene espression and the cell cycle. Changes in chromatin structure during the cell cycle. The cytoskeleton and the cell cycle. Growth substances, calcium and the regulation of cell division. Regulation of the cell division cycle in cultured plant cells. Genetic and epigenetic control of the plant cell cycle. The control of the cell cycle in relation to floral induction. The DNA endoredduplication cycles. The chloroplast division cycle and its relationship to the cell division cycle.

Addressing the regulation of the eukaryotic cell cycle, this book brings together experts to cover all aspects of the field, clearly and unambiguously, delineating what is commonly accepted in the field from the problems that remain unsolved. It will thus appeal to a large audience: basic and clinical scientists involved in the study of cell growth, differentiation, senescence, apoptosis, and cancer, as well as graduates and postgraduates.

Considerable advances have been made in our understanding of the eukaryotic cell cycle at the molecular level over the past two decades or so, particularly in yeast and in animal systems. However, only in the past three or four years has progress been made in plants at the molecular level. The present volume brings together molecular biologists, cell biologists and physiologists to discuss this recent progress and how it relates to our understanding of the regulation of plant growth and development. The opening paper summarises the progress which has been made with fission yeast. Subsequent papers explore what is known about cell cycle control at the molecular level in plants, and about cell cycle regulation in specific physiological systems, ending with summary papers on cell division in roots and shoots. The book comprises up-to-date findings on a fundamental aspect of plant growth and development, and as such will be of particular interest to advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and research scientists in the fields of molecular biology, cell biology and physiology.