This volume is a collection of review articles by leading scientists involved in various aspects of work involving plant hairs, or "trichomes." The scope of the volume is broad, representing the fact that there is interest in these structures for researchers in diverse fields including plant anatomy, taxonomy, cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, and ecology.

Plant-herbivore interactions are a central topic in evolutionary ecology. Historically, their study has been a cornerstone for coevolutionary theory. Starting from classic ecological studies at the phenotypic level, it has since expanded to molecular and genomic approaches. After a historical perspective, the book’s subsequent chapters cover a wide range of topics: from populations to ecosystems; plant- and herbivore-focused studies; in natural and in man-modified ecosystems; and both micro- and macro-evolutionary levels. All chapters include valuable background information and empirical evidence. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to both students and researchers, and will hopefully stimulate further research in this exciting field of evolutionary biology.

This timely book provides an overview of the anatomical, chemical, and developmental features contributing to plant defense, with an emphasis on plant responses that are induced by wounding or herbivore attack. The book first introduces general concepts of direct and indirect defenses, followed by a focused review of the different resistance traits. Finally, signal perception and transduction mechanism for the activation of plant defense responses are discussed.

This reference work provides a comprehensive review of cell and tissue differentiation and its role in the formation of specific secondary metabolites. Divided into five sections, this book covers the main cellular processes involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Chapters from expert contributors offer specific case studies of cell and tissue differentiation, examines secondary metabolites in shoot and root cultures, and present new scientific insights and original technologies with applications in medicinal plants and in plant biotechnology. Students, scholars and researchers with an interest in the fields of botany, agriculture, pharmacy, biotechnology and phytochemistry will find this book an important account. This book will also engage professionals working in plant-based industry.

Plants produce a wide variety of specialized metabolites that mediate interactions between plants and other organisms or the environment. Specialized metabolic pathways are often unique to a subset of plant species and augment the core metabolic pathways that are nearly universal to all plants. In addition to phylogenetic restriction, specialized metabolic pathways also exhibit compartmentalization within a plant, either at the tissue or cell type level. Many plants possess secretory glandular trichomes, structures consisting of one or a few cells that protrude from the surfaces of aboveground plant tissues like leaves, stems, and flowers. These trichomes accumulate or secrete specialized metabolites. This work describes the biochemical pathways behind two classes of trichome-localized specialized metabolites: pyrethrins and acylsugars. Metabolic engineering of the pyrethrin pathway in plant hosts and geographic variation of acylsugar phenotypes are also discussed.