Measuring Roots - An Updated Approach

S. Mancuso, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy (Ed.)

Roots represent half of the plant body – and arguably the more interesting half. Despite its obvious importance for the whole plant, until recently our knowledge of the root apparatus was very limited, mostly due to the inadequacy of the techniques available. Recent advances in the visualization and measurement of roots have resulted in significant progress in our understanding of root architecture, growth and behaviour. In this book international experts highlight the most advanced techniques, both lab and field methods, and discuss them in detail. Measuring Roots combines academic and practical aspects of this topic, making it a universal handbook for all researchers and others interested in root-measuring methods.

Waterlogging Signalling and Tolerance in Plants

Stefano Mancuso, University of Florence, Italy
Sergey Shabala, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia

Waterlogging is a major problem for plant cultivation in many regions of the world.

This book combines both academic and practical aspects of this topic. Based on recent progress in cell and molecular biology, various facets of waterlogging signaling and tolerance are addressed, starting from the molecular level, through membrane transport, cells and plant organs, up to the whole organism. Leading scientists contribute 13 chapters grouped into the following main parts:

· Whole-Plant Regulation

· Intracellular Signaling

· Membrane Transporters in Waterlogging Tolerance

· Agronomical and Environmental Aspects

This work offers a universal handbook for any researcher or agronomist interested in the impact of waterlogging in plants.

Signaling in plants

František Baluška, University of Bonn, Germany
Stefano Mancuso, University of Florence, Italy

This book addresses diverse aspects of signaling at all levels of plant organization, starting from single molecules; through vesicle recycling and organelles, dynamic actin cytoskeletons, and plant organs bending in response to sensory stimuli induced by abiotic cues such as gravity and light; up to the whole organism as related to its circadian clock or pathogen defense. Emphasis is placed on the integrative aspects of signaling, which foster our understanding of sensory and communicative plants in all their complexity.

Communication in Plants - Neuronal Aspects of Plant Life

František Baluška, University of Bonn, Germany
Stefano Mancuso, University of Florence, Italy
Dieter Volkmann, University of Bonn, Germany

Plant neurobiology is a newly emerging field of plant sciences. It covers signalling and communication at all levels of biological organization – from molecules up to ecological communities. In this book, plants are presented as intelligent and social organisms with complex forms of communication and information processing.

Authors from diverse backgrounds such as molecular and cellular biology, electrophysiology, as well as ecology treat the most important aspects of plant communication, including the plant immune system, abilities of plants to recognize self, signal transduction, receptors, plant neurotransmitters and plant neurophysiology. Further, plants are able to recognize the identity of herbivores and organize the defence responses accordingly. The similarities in animal and plant neuronal/immune systems are discussed too. All these hidden aspects of plant life and behaviour will stimulate further intense investigations in order to understand the communicative plants in their whole complexity.

Rhythms in Plants

Phenomenology, Mechanisms, and Adaptive Significance

Stefano Mancuso, University of Florence, Italy
Sergey Shabala, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia

Rhythmic behaviour is quintessential to life itself. Advances in plant molecular biology, micro/nanotechnology and applied mathematics provide new tools for understanding how environmental signals and internal clocks regulate rhythmic gene expression and development, and how these signals are translated into physiological responses at various levels of structural organisation. This book reviews recent progress in assessing underlying mechanisms controlling plant circadian and ultradian oscillations, and their physiological implications for growth, development, and adaptive responses to the environment. It focuses on mechanisms and theoretical concepts at the level of the cell to the entire plant. Written by a diverse group of leading researchers, it will surely spark the interest of readers from many branches of science: from physicists and chemists wishing to learn about multi-faceted rhythms in plant biology, to biologists dealing with state-of-the-art modelling of such rhythmic phenomena.