Intended for undergraduate and graduate courses in plant development, this book explains how the cells of a plant acquire and maintain their specific fates. Plant development is a continuous process occurring throughout the life cycle, with similar regulatory mechanisms acting at different stages and in different parts of the plant. Rather than focussing on the life cycle, the book is structured around these underlying mechanisms, using case studies to provide students with a framework to understand the many factors, both environmental and endogenous, that combine to regulate development and generate the enormous diversity of plant forms. New approach to the study of plant development and a refreshing look at this fast-moving area. Authors focus their discussion on the basic mechanisms which underpin plant development, tackling the fundamental question of how a single cell becomes a complex flowering plant from a cellular perspective. An up-to-date, modern text in plant development for advanced level undergraduates and postgraduates in plant science. Thought-provoking treatment of a difficult subject, the text will satisfy the needs of advanced level undergraduates and postgraduates in plant science. Experimental case studies throughout. The artwork from the book is available at www.blackwellpublishing.com/leyser

In recent years, the study of the plant cell cycle has become of major interest, not only to scientists working on cell division sensu strictu , but also to scientists dealing with plant hormones, development and environmental effects on growth. The book The Plant Cell Cycle is a very timely contribution to this exploding field. Outstanding contributors reviewed, not only knowledge on the most important classes of cell cycle regulators, but also summarized the various processes in which cell cycle control plays a pivotal role. The central role of the cell cycle makes this book an absolute must for plant molecular biologists.

This symposium was not only a happy event for the University of Nebraska, but it marked a milestone in the history of the biological sciences here. The symposium cele in the most appropriate way possible, the creation of the new School of Life brated, Sciences and ushered in what I believe will be a period of substantial development for biology on this campus. I am immensely proud of the faculty of this new School, and I have every confidence that the School's reputation and achievements will continue to grow. As you all know, this university has had and still has distinguished scientists in the biological sciences and has offered fme programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level. But both the formation of the School of Ufe Sciences and the construction of the new Ufe Sciences Building promise a brighter future in this important area The School of Life Sciences was formed from the Departments of Botany, Micro biology, and Zoology, together with staff members in Biochemistry (from both the Department of Chemistry and from the former Department of Biochemistry and Nutri tion in the College of Agriculture) as well as staff members in the College of Agriculture's Department of Plant Pathology. Our whole notion was to build a core unit in biology that would cross the lines between the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Agriculture in order to combine strengths which exist in both areas.

Control Mechanisms in Developmental Processes covers the proceedings of the 1967 26th Symposium of The Society for Developmental Biology, held in La Jolla, California. This book is divided into three parts encompassing 10 chapters that summarize the role of cytoplasmic units and the nucleus in developmental processes and the regulatory mechanisms. The opening part of the book describes the chemical changes during the development of plastids in leaves of higher plants. The book goes on discussing the nuclear and cytoplasmic controls in Neurospora morphology. This compilation also examines the aspects of development, growth, and control in the basal bodies and flagella of Chlamydomonas reinhardii. The second part describes genetic systems in plants that serve to initiate or program the sequence in plant development and the life cycle of hybrids between somatic cells of different species. A chapter discusses the genetic basis of higher plant morphogenesis by analysis of the differences between genotypes that differ from each other with respect to a single gene having a pronounced and highly specific effect upon form. A discussion on the activation of protein synthesis upon fertilization and early development of animal eggs to the biochemical basis of the determination process is also included. The concluding part deals with the differentiation of erythroid cells; the induction of hemoglobin synthesis; the regulation of heme and globin synthesis; and the role of heme in the synthesis and assembly of hemoglobin. This part also describes the differentiation of cells to the point where they can perform the various types of immunological reactions. This book is an invaluable source for developmental biologists and researchers.