Molecular and Cellular Aspects of Plant Reproduction

Molecular biology techniques have considerably increased our understanding of mechanisms underlying the control of flower initiation, development, function and senescence, processes which can be critically important in managing the yield of agricultural crops. The book covers the molecular and genetic control of flower morphogenesis in particular species and discusses the role and regulation of gene expression in the development, together with action of the male and female gametes in plant reproduction. The considerable variation in longevity of flowers and pattern of senescence are reviewed. The importance of ethylene in the control mechanism is discussed using examples of both ethylene-sensitive and insensitive species. The book will be vital to those researching floral physiology, and a useful reference for undergraduates studying relevant botanical courses.

Re-issue, originally published in 1994.

List of contributors; 1. Introduction: 'where do we go from here?' J. Heslop-Harrison; 2. Molecular control of floral organogenesis and plant reproduction in Petunia hybrida A. J. van Tunen, M. Busscher, L. Columbo, J. Franken and G. C. Angenent; 3. Control of floral morphogenesis in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis): the role of homeotic genes B. R. Jordan, R. G. Anthony and P. E. James; 4. Isolation and properties of mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana with reduced sensitivity to short days B. Thomas and D. Mozley; 5. Asexual mutants in Melandrium album (Silene alba): tools in cDNA cloning and analysis of an X/Y chromosome system in plants N. Barbacar and I. Negrutiu; 6. Pollen exine - the sporopollenin enigma and the physics of pattern R. J. Scott; 7. The diversity and regulation of gene expression in the pathway of male gametophyte development D. Twell; 8. Characterisation of Arabidopsis thaliana anther-specific gene which shares sequence similarity with s-1,3-glucanases D. L. Hird, D. Worrall, R. Hodge, S. Smartt, W. Paul and R. Scott; 9. Ovule cDNA clones of Petunia hybrida encoding proteins homologous to MAP and shaggy/zeste-white 3 protein kinases V. Ferrant, J. van Went and M. Kries; 10. Towards the elucidation of the mechanisms of pollen tube inhibition during the self-incompatibility response in Papaver rhoeas F. C. H. Franklin, K. K. Atwal, J. P. Ride and V. E. Franklin-Tong; 11. Intracellular movement and pollen physiology: progress and prospects J. Heslop-Harrison and Y. Heslop-Harrison; 12. Organisation and functions of cell surface molecules on gametes of the brown algae Fucus J. R. Green, C. J. Stafford, P. J. Wright and J. A. Callow; 13. Strategies of flower senescence - a review A. D. Stead and W. G. van Doorn; 14. The physiology of petal senescence which is not initiated by ethylene W. G. van Doorn and A. D. Stead; 15. Molecular biology of flower senescence in carnation W. R. Woodson; 16. Ethylene sensitivity and flower senescence C. S. Whitehead; 17. Ethylene biosynthetic genes and inter-organ signalling during flower senescence E. J. Woltering, A. Ten Have, P. B. Larsen and W. R. Woodson; Index.