Chloroplast is the organelle where the life-giving process photosynthesis takes place; it is the site where plants and algae produce food and oxygen that sustain our life. The story of how it originates from proplastids, and how it ultimately dies is beautifully portrayed by three authorities in the field: Basanti Biswal, Udaya Biswal and M. K. Raval. I consider it a great privilege and honor to have been asked to write this foreword. The book ' Chloroplast biogenesis: from proplastid to gerontoplast' goes much beyond photosynthesis. The character of the book is different from that of many currently available books because it provides an integrated approach to cover the entire life span of the organelle including its senescence and death. The books available are mostly confined to the topics relating to the 'build up' or development of chloroplast during greening. The story of organelle biogenesis without description of the events associated with its regulated dismantling during genetically programmed senescence is incomplete. A large volume of literature is available in this area of chloroplast senescence accumulated during the last 20 years. Although some of the findings in this field have been organized in the form of reviews, the data in the book are generalized and integrated with simple text and graphics. This book describes the structural features of prop las tid and its transformation to fully mature chloroplast, which is subsequently transformed into gerontoplast exhibiting senescence syndrome. The book consists of five major chapters.

From July 28 to August 3, 1991, an International Meeting on the REGULATION OF CHLOROPLAST BIOGENESIS was held at the capsis Beach Hotel in Aghia Pelaghia, on the island of crete, Greece. The Meeting (Advanced Research Workshop-Lecture Course) was co-sponsored by NATO, FEBS and IUB, and was held under the auspices of the International society for Chloro plast Development, the Greek Ministry of Industry, Research and Technol ogy, and the National Center for Scientific Research "Demokritos". The Meeting focused on recent advances in the field of chloroplast biogenesis and the regulatory mechanisms underlined, and brought together over 120 experts and students of the field from 22 countries. The subject of chloroplast biogenesis has experienced great progress in recent years mainly thanks to the application of Molecular Biology techniques and methodology. New findings that emerge gradually unravel the regulatory mechanisms involved in the assembly, stabilization and growth of the photosynthetic units in thylakoids, the signal transduction chain leading from photoreception to gene expression, the transport of nuclear-coded proteins into stroma-soluble supramolecular enzyme complexes as well as thylakoid-bound supramolecular complexes, involved in light-energy transduction. It was the aim of this meeting to bring together experts and students coming from diverse disciplines (ranging from Botany and plant physiology to Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Biotechnology), to discuss the recent advances in the field so that thorough exchange of ideas and working hypotheses would be achieved.

This unique resource reviews progress made by scientists researching into how ambient changes in the wavelength, intensity, direction and duration of light environment affect plant growth and development. It explains how combinations of new research with classical photobiology and physiology have made it feasible to interpret intriguing light dependent phenomena such as phototropism, determination of flowering time, shade avoidance etc. at molecular level. Written by over 20 leading experts in the field the book covers major breakthroughs achieved in the last decade. It is generously referenced with more than 2389 bibliographic citations.

The present book provides a comprehensive overview of our current knowledge on plastid biogenesis, plastid-nuclear communication, and the regulation of plastid gene expression at all levels. It also assesses the state-of-the-art in key technologies, such as proteomics and chloroplast transformation. Written by recognized experts in the field, the book further covers crucial post-translational processes in plastid biogenesis and function, including protein processing.

Chloroplast development is a key feature of leaf developmental program. Recent advances in plant biology reveal that chloroplasts also determine the development, the structure and the physiology of the entire plant. The books, published thus far, have emphasized the biogenesis of the organelle, but not the events associated with the transformation of the mature chloroplast to the gerontoplast during senescence. This book, with 28 chapters, is unique because it describes how the chloroplast matures and how it is subsequently transformed to become the gerontoplast during senescence, a process required for nutrient recycling in plants. This book includes a state-of-the-art survey of the current knowledge on the regulation and the mechanisms of chloroplast development. Some of the chapters critically discuss the signaling process, the expression potential of plastid DNA, the interaction of cellular organelles, and the molecular mechanisms associated with the assembly and the disassembly of organellar complexes and finally the modulation of chloroplast development by environmental signals.