]. Plant Physiol. VoL 143. pp.
396 {1994)
J. G. Manners: Principles of Plant Pathology. Cambridge
University Press, 1993. 343 pp. (ISBN 0-521-43564-1). Price:
16.95 pounds sterling.
The second edition of «Principles of Plant Pathology- has been
extensively revised and a new chapter on costs and benefits of dis-
ease control has been added. The book is divided into five parts de-
scribing (I) physical and biological c:'uses o~ disease, (II) phys~olg
and (Til) genetics of host pathogen mteracuons, (IV) ep1demwlogy
and (V) methods used in plant protection. At the end, a comprehen-
sive glossary, a list of the many references cited in the text and an
extensive index are provided.
The book is well written, carefully organized and without a
doubt fulfills its intention to «provide an insight into the principles
underlying the study of plant phatology- without being a diagn?s-
tic manual. The only exceptions are the three chapters of the thr~
section dealing with genetics of the host response (12), pathogem-
city (13) and host-pathogen interactions (14). Here the author not
only fails to integrate important contributions of molecular genet-
ics but also to provide a current version of the gene-for-gene hypo-
thesis. He completely ignores the existence of bacterial hrp genes
and insufficiently describes avirulence genes. In addition, chapter
14, in particular, contains a number of mistakes which can not be
tolerated in a textbook. For instance, the best-studied example of
fungal avirulence genes encoding the race-specific elicitors of Cla·
dosporium fulvum is incorrectly described (p. 172).
Although the book otherwise is an excellent textbook for stu-
dents of plant pathology and related fields, as well as being worth its
price, the third section urgently requires revision before it becomes
recommendable.
Dierk Scheel, Koln
Salisbury, F. B. and Ross, C. W.: Plant Physiology, 4th ed.
682 pp. Wadsworth Publishing Co. Belmont, California
(1992). (ISBN 0-534-15162-0). Price: 20.95 pounds sterling.
The purpose of this textbok is «to provide ~ br~ad explanation. of
the physiology of plants fro~ seed germmatwn ~o ve~au
growth, maturation, and flowermg». In order to achieve th1s goal
the authors have sub-divided the text into 4 sections (1. Cells: Wa-
ter, solutions, and surfaces; 2. Plant biochemistry; 3.. Plant develop-
ment; 4. Environmental physiology). Three ap~nd!ces (Use of~­
units; radiant energy: some definitions; gene rephcauon and protem
synthesis: terms and concepts) are added which provide supplemen-
tary information not covered in the preet;ding sectio~ of th~ b~ok.
In addition, several <personal essays>, wntten by leadmg sc1ent1sts,
are included. The first chapter begins with the basic postulates
about science in general and plant physiology in particular. Unfor-
tunately the discussion of the principles of modern science is very
short. Throughout the book the authors describe ex~ints,
hypotheses, theories and models. However, a short defimuon of
these terms would be very useful. This introduction is fol:w~
a concise review of <the plant cell>: the authors present defiruttons
of the principal components of the cell and de~crib the cor~spnd­
ing structures. This section pr~vides the bas1s .for. the detailed de-
scription of the physiology of h1gher plants which IS the content of
Book Reviews
the subsequent 25 chapters of the book. Some of these chapters (e.g.
10: Photosynthesis: chloroplasts and light) are concise discussions of
the essential facts and a pleasure to read. Other subjects (e.g. 7: Ab-
sorption of mineral salts) are treated so extensively that it is difficult
for the reader to distinguish between essential and supplementary
information.
Throughout the text the authors refer to the corresponding origi-
nal papers. As a result, the book contains more than 2500 refer-
ences. It is noteworthy that not only the latest papers are cited; the
classical investigations of Hofler, Pfeffer and others are also in-
cluded in the list of references. This detailed discussion of all the dif-
ferent hypotheses and facts is of importance for the advanced read-
er. However, for those students who simply want to know cwhat is
going on in plants» (p. 3) several chapters of this book are too com-
prehensive.
In summary, this giant review by one of the editors of this
journal, that covers all aspects of the physiology of higher plants
can be recommended to those interested in this area of science. It
should be noted that the quality of some figures (micrographs) is
poor. However, the price of this book is rather low to make this a
very worthwhile purchase.
U. Kutschera, Kassel
J.H. Argyroudi-Akoyunoglou (editor): Regulation of
Chloroplast Biogenesis. (NATO ASI Series, Series A, Life
Sciences, Vol. 226). Plenum Press, New York 1992, 621 pp.
(ISBN 0-306-44184-5). Price: Hardcover $ 135.00.
This volume contains about 90 contributions given as lectures or
poster presentations during a NATO Advanced Research Work-
shop held in the summer 1991 on the island of Crete, Greece. Con-
sequently, the participants came mainly from Europe, and only a
few of the American and Japanese groups working in the field of
chloroplast biogenesis presented their data.
A selection of papers of mostly high scientific standard is pub-
lished providing an up-to-date overview on this still fast growing
area of research. The papers deal with the regulation by external
and internal factors of nuclear and plastid gene expression during
chloroplast development, protein transport from the cytoplasm
into chloroplasts, chlorophyll and carotenoid biosynthesis (a re-
markable number of contributions!), assembly, organization and in-
teractions of photosynthetic units, mechanisms of adaptation to dif-
ferent light conditions, and genetic manipulation as means to moni-
tor assembly and function of components of the photosynthetic ap-
paratus. The chloroplast is exclusively seen as the organelle of pho-
tosynthesis. Metabolic pathways not directly related to photosyn-
thesis are not within the scope of this volume.
Numerous contributions demonstrate the value of using mutants
and different groups of algae as well as the evolutionary related
cyanobacteria on one hand, and of combining the methods of plant
physiology, biophysics and molecular biology on the other hand, to
elucidate the mechanisms underlaying chloroplast biogenesis. As a
by whole, this volume provides a collection of data stimulating for ex-
perienced researchers and for t~ose ~ho ar~ new in the field of. bio-
genesis of photosynthetic functiOns m plasuds and cyanobactena.
Th. Borner, Berlin