Essential processes in biology such as cell and nuclear division, development, intracellular transport and physiological response, rely on the perception of environmental and intracellular signals and their transduction to subcellular targets. The mechanisms by which these signals are received by cells and transduced towards the proper targets by cytoskeletal components constitute one of the most important and rapidly developing areas in modern plant biology. In addition, fundamentally important responses of plants to biotic and abiotic factors also involve signalling to and through the cytoskeleton, which helps explain the current interest of biotechnology in this field of fundamental research. Manipulation of cytoskeletal components, the microtubules and microfilaments, had, until recently, not been a priority issue for plant biotechnology. However, given the fundamental role of the cytoskeleton during plant growth and development, the potential for biotechnological applications is immense. The NATO Advanced Research Workshop, “The Plant Cytoskeleton: Genomic and Bioinformatic Tools for Biotechnology and Agriculture” was held in Yalta, Ukraine, from September 19 to 23, 2006 – which continued the tradition of the first two International Symposia “Plant Cytoskeleton: Molecular Keys for Biotechnology” (Yalta, Ukraine, 1998) and “The Plant Cytoskeleton: functional diversity and biotechnological implications” (Kiev, Ukraine, 2002).

The phenomenon of guttation finds applications in a wide range of areas, including plant biology, ecology, agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, pharmacology and medicine. This unique text provides a comprehensive review of this process. It explores the genetic, environmental, and edaphic factors that control and regulate guttation; and discusses in detail the impact of guttation on soil-plant-animal-environment systems, soil fertility and soil productivity, plant water balance, plant physiological research, ecosystem maintenance, and hydathode retrieval of water and solute. A separate chapter addresses practical applications, such as in the production of recombinant proteins for commercial use, seed protein, alkaloids, pharmaceutical drugs, resins, gums, and rubber. Besides specialists in plant sciences, the book will also appeal to anyone interested in the topic of plant-water relationships.

This book is a collection of stories, reflections and advice written by proficient scientists. They address the question of what doing science means to them, and describe attitudes and working practices that have proved effective and rewarding. The book is aimed in particular at young people who are attracted by science or already undertaking undergraduate studies, and who are considering making science their long-term profession. It will also be helpful and revealing to early-career scientists who are searching for their own best route to success. The book serves as a platform for experienced scientists to describe their original inclination, how that subjective disposition found its expression in their way of doing science, whether their expectations were met, and what achievements they can claim. But it is not restricted to success: contributors also share details of the limitations and failures they have encountered. Last but not least they describe how they see science now, how they think it will be in the near future, and what advice they would give to the their much younger colleagues. Readers will appreciate the diversity of the individual paths shaped by different education, motivation, ambition, inclination, intuition, feeling, belief and eligibility. At the same time the stories confirm that science relies on a translation of this subjective level into an objective level, one that is shared and accepted by the international scientific community, and whose results are produced with a commonly accepted and fully rational scientific method of investigation.

Advances in Agronomy continues to be recognized as a leading reference and a first-rate source for the latest research in agronomy. Each volume contains an eclectic group of reviews by leading scientists throughout the world. As always, the subjects covered are rich and varied and exemplary of the abundant subject matter addressed by this long-running serial. Includes numerous, timely, state-of-the-art reviews Features distinguished, well recognized authors from around the world Builds upon this venerable and iconic review series Covers the extensive variety and breadth of subject matter in crop and soil sciences

Plant hormone signaling plays an important role in many physiological and developmental processes including stress response. With the advent of new post-genomic molecular techniques, the potential for increasing our understanding of the impact of hormone signaling on gene expression and adaptive processes has never been higher. Unlocking the molecular underpinnings of these processes shows great promise for the development of new plant biotechnologies and improved crop varieties. The topics included in this book emphasize on genomics and functional genomics aspects, to understand the global and whole genome level changes upon particular stress conditions. With the functional genomics tools, the mechanism of phytohormone signaling and their target genes can be defined in a more systematic manner. The integrated analysis of phytohormone signaling under single or multiple stress conditions may prove exceptional to design stress tolerant crop plants in the field conditions. Bringing together the latest advances, as well as the work being done to apply these findings to plant and crop science, Mechanism of Plant Hormone Signaling Under Stress will prove extremely useful to plant and stress biologists, plant biotechnology researchers, as well as students and teachers.

Chemical reactions and interactions between molecules are commonly considered the basis of life, and thus the biochemical nature of cells and organisms is relatively well recognized. Research conducted in recent years, however, increasingly indicates that physical forces profoundly affect the functioning of life at all levels of its organization. To detect and to respond to such forces, plant cells and plants need to be structured mechanically. This volume focuses on mechanical aspects of plant life. It starts with a consideration of the mechanical integration of supracellular structures and mechanical properties of cellular building blocks to show how the structural integrity of plant cells is achieved and maintained during growth and development. The following chapters reveal how the functioning of integrated plant cells contributes to the mechanical integration of plants, and how the latter are able to detect physical stimuli and to reorganize their own cells in response to them. The mechanical aspects of plant responses to stresses are also presented. Finally, all these aspects are placed in an evolutionary context.