Plant hormones : physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology

Plant hormones play a crucial role in controlling the way in which plants growand develop. Whilemetabolism providesthepowerand buildingblocks for plant life, it is the hormones that regulate the speed of growth of the individual parts and integrate these parts to produce the form that we recognize as a plant. In addition, theyplayacontrolling role inthe processes of reproduction. This book is a description ofthese natural chemicals: how they are synthesizedand metabolized; howthey work; whatwe knowoftheir molecular biology; how we measure them; and a description ofsome ofthe roles they play in regulating plant growth and development. Emphasis has also been placed on the new findings on plant hormones deriving from the expanding use ofmolecular biology as a tool to understand these fascinating regulatory molecules. Even at the present time, when the role of genes in regulating all aspects of growth and development is considered of prime importance, it is still clear that the path of development is nonetheless very much under hormonal control, either via changes in hormone levels in response to changes in gene transcription, or with the hormones themselves as regulators ofgene transcription. This is not a conference proceedings, but a selected collection ofnewly written, integrated, illustrated reviews describing our knowledge of plant hormones, and the experimental work that is the foundation of this knowledge. Front Matter....Pages I-XI The Plant Hormones: Their Nature, Occurrence, and Functions....Pages 1-12 The Plant Hormone Concept:Concentration, Sensitivity and Transport....Pages 13-38 Auxin Biosynthesis and Metabolism....Pages 39-65 The Biosynthesis and Metabolism of Gibberellins in Higher Plants....Pages 66-97 Cytokinin Biosynthesis and Metabolism....Pages 98-117 Biosynthesis and Metabolism of Ethylene....Pages 118-139 Abscisic Acid Biosynthesis and Metabolism....Pages 140-157 Polyamines as Endogenous Growth Regulators....Pages 158-178 Jasmonates, Salicylic acid and Brassinosteroids....Pages 179-213 Auxin and Cell Elongation....Pages 214-227 The Control of Gene Expression by Auxin....Pages 228-245 Gibberellin Action in Germinated Cereal Grains....Pages 246-271 Hormone Binding and Signal Transduction....Pages 272-297 Calcium and Plant Hormone Action....Pages 298-317 Genes Specifying Auxin and Cytokinin Biosynthesis in Prokaryotes....Pages 318-339 Transgenic Plants in Hormone Biology....Pages 340-353 Molecular Approaches to the Study of the Mechanism of Action of Auxins....Pages 354-371 Ethylene Genes and Fruit Ripening....Pages 372-394 The Role of Hormones in Gene Activation in Response to Wounding....Pages 395-414 Instrumental Methods of Plant Hormone Analysis....Pages 415-432 Immunoassay Methods of Plant Hormone Analysis....Pages 433-447 Hormone Mutants and Plant Development....Pages 448-485 Ethylene in Plant Growth, Development, and Senescence....Pages 486-508 Auxin Transport....Pages 509-530 The Induction of Vascular Tissues by Auxin and Cytokinin....Pages 531-546 Hormones and the Orientation of Growth....Pages 547-571 Hormonal Regulation of Apical Dominance....Pages 572-597 Hormones as Regulators of Water Balance....Pages 598-616 Hormones and Reproductive Development....Pages 617-648 The Role of Hormones in Photosynthate Partitioning and Seed Filling....Pages 649-670 The Role of Hormones During Seed Development....Pages 671-697 The Role of Hormones In Potato (Solanum Tuberosum L.) Tuberization....Pages 698-724 Postharvest Hormone Changes in Vegetables and Fruit....Pages 725-750 Natural and Synthetic Growth Regulators and Their Use in Horticultural and Agronomic Crops....Pages 751-773 Hormones in Tissue Culture and Micropropagation....Pages 774-796 Back Matter....Pages 797-833 Plant hormones play a crucial role in controlling the way in which plants grow and develop. While metabolism provides the power and building blocks for plant life, it is the hormones that regulate the speed of growth of the individual parts and integrate them to produce the form that we recognize as a plant. In addition, hormones play a governing role in the process of reproduction. This book is a description of these natural chemicals: how they are synthesized and metabolized, how they act at both the organismal and molecular levels, how we measure them, and a description of some of the roles they play in regulating plant growth and development. This is the second edition of the highly acclaimed monograph published in 1987 under the title Plant Hormones and their Role in Plant Growth and Development. All chapters have been rewritten to include the latest information on plant hormones, and several totally new chapters have been included, particularly with reference to the molecular biology of plant hormones. The book is a selected collection of newly written, carefully integrated and illustrated reviews describing our knowledge of plant hormones and the experimental work that is the foundation of this information. It is directed at advanced students and professionals in the plant sciences: botanists, biochemists and molecular biologists; and those involved with the horticultural, agricultural and forestry sciences. It can serve as a text and guide for graduate level courses on plant hormones or plant growth and development, and as a supplement to courses on plant or comparative development. Scientists in other disciplines who wish to learn more about hormones and their role in plant development will also find this text of value Plant hormones play a crucial role in controlling the way in which plants grow and develop. This text is a collection of reviews describing our knowledge of plant hormones and the experimental work that is the foundation of this information Plant hormones: hormone synthesis and metabolism, other hormonal compounds, how hormones work, molecular aspects of hormone synthesis and action, hormone analysis the functioning of hormones in plant growth and evelopment