Functional Biology of Plants

Preface, ix Acknowledgements, x 1 Origins, 1 1.1 Plants - what are they?, 1 1.2 Back to the beginning, 1 1.3 Eukaryotes emerge, 2 1.4 Photosynthetic eukaryotes - the first 'plants', 3 1.5 The greening of Earth - plants invade the land, 4 1.6 Embracing the terrestrial lifestyle, 6 1.7 Arrival of the angiosperms, 8 1.8 Sex and the alternation of generations, 11 2 Introduction to Plant Cells, 14 2.1 Plant cells, 14 2.2 Cell walls, 15 2.3 The plasma membrane, 21 2.4 Cell compartmentation, 23 2.5 Chloroplasts, 24 2.6 Mitochondria, 27 2.7 The nucleus, 29 2.8 The vacuole, 31 2.9 Endomembrane systems, 31 2.10 Microbodies/peroxisomes, 32 2.11 Ribosomes, 34 2.12 The cytoskeleton, 34 2.13 The mitotic cell cycle, 36 2.14 Metabolism, 42 3 Genes, Gene Expression and Development, 56 3.1 Genes, 56 3.2 Gene expression, 59 3.3 Chloroplasts and mitochondria, 65 3.4 Control of gene expression - switching genes on and off, 69 3.5 Molecular aspects of development, 75 3.6 Plant hormones, 75 3.7 Light receptors, 86 3.8 Concluding comments, 92 4 From Embryo to Establishment, 94 4.1 Introduction, 94 4.2 Embryogenesis, 94 4.3 Endosperm, 99 4.4 Perisperm, 100 4.5 Late embryo growth, storage deposition and desiccation, 100 4.6 Seed coat, 109 4.7 'Recalcitrant' seeds, 109 4.8 Apomixis, 109 4.9 Seeds and fruit, 110 4.10 Fruit development and ripening, 112 4.11 Dormancy and quiescence, 114 4.12 Germination, 115 4.13 Establishment, 120 5 Roots, 124 5.1 External morphology of roots, 124 5.2 Root anatomy, 124 5.3 Root growth, 126 5.4 Soil chemistry and water relations, 130 5.5 Plant mineral nutrition, 132 5.6 Movement of nutrients to the root surface, 133 5.7 Absorption of water and nutrients, 133 5.8 Mycorrhizae, 139 5.9 Root nodules and nitrogen fixation, 139 5.10 Tropisms, 142 5.11 Gravitropism in roots, 143 6 Stems, 145 6.1 Structure of the stem, 145 6.2 The young stem, 145 6.3 The shoot apical meristem, 146 6.4 Shoot organizational forms, 148 6.5 The mature stem, 148 6.6 The tallest, largest and oldest plants, 151 6.7 Ageing and senescence, 152 6.8 Long-distance xylem transport, 154 6.9 Translocation in the phloem, 155 6.10 Biological clocks in plants, 157 6.11 Phototropism - how do stems curve towards the light?, 160 6.12 Gravitropism in stems, 160 6.13 Thigmotropism, 161 6.14 Nastic movements, 161 6.15 Bud dormancy, 163 7 Leaves, 166 7.1 External morphology of leaves, 166 7.2 The anatomy of the leaf, 166 7.3 Control of leaf growth and development, 167 7.4 Photosynthesis, 168 7.5 Photorespiration, 174 7.6 The photosynthesis/transpiration dilemma, 177 7.7 C4 photosynthesis, 178 7.8 Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), 181 7.9 Sources and sinks, 182 7.10 Stomata, 184 7.11 Leaf senescence and abscission, 186 8 Flowers, 189 8.1 Introduction, 189 8.2 What is a flower?, 189 8.3 Organization of flowers and flowering - inflorescences and life-styles, 191 8.4 Formation of flowers, 192 8.5 Gametogenesis, 198 8.6 Pollination and fertilization, 204 8.7 Evolution, 214 9 Environmental Stresses, 216 9.1 Responses to stress, 216 9.2 Temperature, 217 9.3 Waterlogging, 221 9.4 Drought, 223 9.5 Salinity, 226 9.6 Chemical stress, 228 9.7 Light and radiation, 232 10 Acclimation and Adaptation to Environmental Stresses, 235 10.1 Adaptation and acclimation responses, 235 10.2 Temperature, 236 10.3 Resistance and adaptation to waterlogging, 240 10.4 Resistance and adaptation to drought, 243 10.5 Resistance and adaptation to salinity, 247 10.6 Tolerance and adaptation to toxic metals, 252 10.7 Adaptations to light and radiation, 256 11 Biotic Stresses, 260 11.1 Plant/plant competition, 260 11.2 Plant/animal interactions, 265 11.3 Plant pathology, 271 12 Plants and the Future, 284 12.1 Climate change, 284 12.2 Loss of plant biodiversity, 288 12.3 Biomass and biofuels derived from plants, 291 12.4 Genetically modified crops, 297 12.5 Conclusion, 300 Glossary, 302 Index, 309