Intended for undergraduate and graduate courses in plant development, this book explains how the cells of a plant acquire and maintain their specific fates. Plant development is a continuous process occurring throughout the life cycle, with similar regulatory mechanisms acting at different stages and in different parts of the plant. Rather than focussing on the life cycle, the book is structured around these underlying mechanisms, using case studies to provide students with a framework to understand the many factors, both environmental and endogenous, that combine to regulate development and generate the enormous diversity of plant forms. New approach to the study of plant development and a refreshing look at this fast-moving area. Authors focus their discussion on the basic mechanisms which underpin plant development, tackling the fundamental question of how a single cell becomes a complex flowering plant from a cellular perspective. An up-to-date, modern text in plant development for advanced level undergraduates and postgraduates in plant science. Thought-provoking treatment of a difficult subject, the text will satisfy the needs of advanced level undergraduates and postgraduates in plant science. Experimental case studies throughout. The artwork from the book is available at www.blackwellpublishing.com/leyser

Plant Growth and Development: A Molecular Approach presents the field of plant development from both molecular and genetic perspectives. This field has evolved at a rapid rate over the past five years through the increasing exploitation of the remarkable plant Arabidopsis. The small genome, rapid life cycle, and ease of transformation of Arabidopsis, as well as the relatively large number of laboratories that are using this plant for their research, have lead to an exponential increase in information about plant development mechanisms.In Plant Growth and Development: A Molecular Approach Professor Fosket synthesizes this flood of new information in a way that conveys to students the excitement of this still growing field. His textbook is based on notes developed over more than ten years of teaching a course on the molecular analysis of plant growth and development and assumes no special knowledge of plant biology. It is intended for advanced undergraduates in plant development, as well as those in plant molecular biology. Graduate students and researchers who are just beginning to work in the field will also find much valuable information in this book. Each chapter concludes with questions for study and review as well as suggestions for further reading. Illustrated with two-color drawings and graphs throughout, and containing up-to-date and comprehensive coverage, Plant Growth and Development: A Molecular Approach will excite and inform students as it increases their understanding of plant science. * * Presents plant development from a molecular and cellular perspective* Illustrates concepts with two-colour diagrams throughout* Offers key study questions and guides to further reading within each chapter* Gives an up-to-date and thorough treatment of this increasingly important subject area* Derived from the author's many years of teaching plant developmental biology

Many exciting discoveries in recent decades have contributed new knowledge to our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate various stages of plant growth and development. Such information, coupled with advances in cell and molecular biology, is fundamental to crop improvement using biotechnological approaches. Two volumes constitute the present work. The ?rst, comprising 22 chapters, commences with introductions relating to gene regulatory models for plant dev- opment and crop improvement, particularly the use of Arabidopsis as a model plant. These chapters are followed by speci?c topics that focus on different developmental aspects associated with vegetative and reproductive phases of the life cycle of a plant. Six chapters discuss vegetative growth and development. Their contents consider topics such as shoot branching, bud dormancy and growth, the devel- ment of roots, nodules and tubers, and senescence. The reproductive phase of plant development is in 14 chapters that present topics such as ?oral organ init- tion and the regulation of ?owering, the development of male and female gametes, pollen germination and tube growth, fertilization, fruit development and ripening, seed development, dormancy, germination, and apomixis. Male sterility and self-incompatibility are also discussed.

Plant Development and Evolution, the latest release in the Current Topics in Developmental Biology series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on the Evolution of the plant body plan, Lateral root development and its role in evolutionary adaptation, the Development of the vascular system, the Development of the shoot apical meristem and phyllotaxis, the Evolution of leaf diversity, the Evolution of regulatory networks in land plants, The role of programed cell death in plant development, the Development and evolution of inflorescence architecture, the Molecular regulation of flower development, the Pre-meiotic another development, and much more. Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors Presents the latest release in the Current Topics in Developmental Biology series Updated release includes the latest information on Plant Development and Evolution