Provides a thorough overview of current research with the green alga Chlamydomonas on chloroplast and mitochondrial biogenesis and function, with an emphasis on the assembly and structure-function relationships of the constituents of the photosynthetic apparatus. Contributions emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of current research in photosynthesis, combining molecular genetics, biochemical, biophysical, and physiological approaches. The 36 articles address topics including nuclear genome organization; RNA stability and processing; splicing; translation; protein targeting in the chloroplast; photosystems; pigments; glycerolipids; the ATP synthase; and ferrodoxin and thioredoxin. Further contributions address new measurements methods for photosynthetic activity in vivo; starch biosynthesis; the responses of Chlamydomonas to various stress conditions; nitrogen assimilation; and mitochondrial genetics. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

We have taught plant molecular biology and biotechnology at the undergraduate and graduate level for over 20 years. In the past few decades, the field of plant organelle molecular biology and biotechnology has made immense strides. From the green revolution to golden rice, plant organelles have revolutionized agriculture. Given the exponential growth in research, the problem of finding appropriate textbooks for courses in plant biotechnology and molecular biology has become a major challenge. After years of handing out photocopies of various journal articles and reviews scattered through out the print and electronic media, a serendipitous meeting occurred at the 2002 IATPC World Congress held in Orlando, Florida. After my talk and evaluating several posters presented by investigators from my laboratory, Dr. Jacco Flipsen, Publishing Manager of Kluwer Publishers asked me whether I would consider editing a book on Plant Organelles. I accepted this challenge, after months of deliberations, primarily because I was unsuccessful in finding a text book in this area for many years. I signed the contract with Kluwer in March 2003 with a promise to deliver a camera-ready textbook on July 1, 2004. Given the short deadline and the complexity of the task, I quickly realized this task would need a co-editor. Dr. Christine Chase was the first scientist who came to my mind because of her expertise in plant mitochondria, and she readily agreed to work with me on this book.

The past decade has witnessed an explosion of our knowledge on the structure, coding capacity and evolution of the genomes of the two DNA-containing cell organelles in plants: chloroplasts (plastids) and mitochondria. Comparative genomics analyses have provided new insights into the origin of organelles by endosymbioses and uncovered an enormous evolutionary dynamics of organellar genomes. In addition, they have greatly helped to clarify phylogenetic relationships, especially in algae and early land plants with limited morphological and anatomical diversity. This book, written by leading experts, summarizes our current knowledge about plastid and mitochondrial genomes in all major groups of algae and land plants. It also includes chapters on endosymbioses, plastid and mitochondrial mutants, gene expression profiling and methods for organelle transformation. The book is designed for students and researchers in plant molecular biology, taxonomy, biotechnology and evolutionary biology.

From August 10 to August 15, 1998, an international Advanced Research Workshop-Lecture Course on The chloroplast: from Molecular Biology to Biotechnology was held at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, Kolymbari-Chania, on the island of Crete, Greece. After five previous meetings on the chloroplast topic in Marburg (1975), Spetses (1978), Rhodos (1985), Aghia Pelaghia, Crete (1991) and Marburg (1995) this conference proved again that chloroplast research is continuously in the focus of intensive research interest. The meeting, sponsored by NATO and supported by the Federation of the European Societies for Plant Physiology (FESPP) and the Greek Ministry of Development (General Secretariat of Research and Development), was held under the auspices of the International Society for Chloroplast Development and the National Center for Scientific Research "Demokritos", Athens-Greece. Aim of the workshop was to bring together experts and students from different disciplines, coming from various countries around the world, studying chloroplast biogenesis from different perspectives in an effort to propose biotechnological approaches, via genetic manipulation of the organelle, applicable in solving problems of economic importance. Ninety scientists (including observers) coming from 19 countries actively participated and discussed recent advances in the field. During the meeting it became clear that as a result of the progress made in molecular biology, including genomic sequence, and in biochemistry over recent years, this exciting field of chloroplast development is continuously promoted by renewed interest in as yet unsolved but very important questions.

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.

The green alga Chlamydomonas is widely used as an experimental model system for studies in cellular and molecular biology, and in particular plant molecular biology. This book is the only single modern compendium of information on its biology and in particular its molecular biology and genetics. Included in addition to much information on the basic biology is material of a very practical nature, namely, methods for culture, preservation of cultures, preparation of media, lists of inhibitors and other additives to culture media, help with common laboratory problems such as contamination, student demonstrations, and properties of particular strains and mutants. Casual users as well as specialists will find the book to be useful in many ways. - Provides access to previously unpublished data from genetic analysis - Provides descriptions of mutant strains - Depicts summary tables comparing properties of different species and their mutant strains - Explains detailed methods for laboratory procedures of general utility - Furnishes comparisons of culture media - Presents lists of inhibitors, mutagens, and other additives to culture media - Assists with common laboratory problems such as contamination and storage of strains - Demonstrates protocols for laboratory demonstrations available for undergraduate teaching.

Plant cells contain various types of plastid, the best known among which is the chloroplast. Apart from their predominant interest for the work on photo synthesis, however, chloroplasts have attracted considerable attention for other reasons. This pertains to extranuclear inheritance of cell organelles and, particularly important for this series, to the participation of chloroplasts as discrete and partly autonomous cell constituents in the developmental biochemistry of plants. This volume is composed of articles by investigators who are actively involved in work on various aspects of research on chloroplasts. Each author has independently covered and analyzed as comprehensively as possible the particular aspects assigned to him. This has the advantage of bringing out many different facets of the situation, though some overlapping has-to be taken into account. We are sure that this volume will enable the reader to gain a broad theoretical and experimental basis for the understanding of the development of chloroplasts and the relationship between plant cells and these organelles.

The Chlamydomonas Sourcebook, 3rd Edition Introduction to Chlamydomonas and Its Laboratory Use (Volume 1) The gold-standard reference?covering the basic biology of the Chlamydomonas alga and techniques for its laboratory analysis Originally published as the standalone Chlamydomonas Sourcebook, then expanded as the first volume in a three-part comprehensive gold-standard reference,?The Chlamydomonas Sourcebook: Introduction to Chlamydomonas and Its Laboratory Use?has been fully revised and updated to include a?wealth of new resources for the Chlamydomonas community. Early chapters cover current understandings of its taxonomy, ultrastructure, cell and life cycles, and nuclear and organelle genomes, followed by technique-oriented chapters covering such topics as cell culture, mutagenesis, genetic analysis, construction of mutant libraries, and protein localization using immunofluorescence. This volume presents the latest in research and best practices, making it a must-have resource for researchers and students working in plant science and photosynthesis, fertility, mammalian vision, and biochemistry; crop scientists; plant physiologists; and plant, molecular, and human disease biologists. - Remains the only complete reference to provide both the historical background and the most up-to-date information and applications on Chlamydomonas - Includes best practices for applications in research, including methods for culture, genetic analysis, genomic and transcriptomic analysis, and mutant screening - Helps researchers solve common laboratory problems, provides details on the properties of particular strains, and offers a comprehensive survey of molecular approaches - Provides a broad perspective for studies in cell and molecular biology, genetics, plant physiology, and related fields

Advances in Botanical Research publishes in-depth and up-to-date reviews on a wide range of topics in plant sciences. Features a wide range of reviews by recognized experts on all aspects of plant genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, physiology and ecology. This thematic volume features reviews on Mitochondrial genome evolution. Publishes in-depth and up-to-date reviews on a wide range of topics in plant sciences Features a wide range of reviews by recognized experts on all aspects of plant genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, physiology and ecology This thematic volume features reviews on mitochondrial genome evolution