In the last few years there have been tremendous advances in the understanding of signals and signalling pathways that operate at the cellular level and lead to developmental processes. In 27 chapters, this volume investigates the cellular and molecular basis of plant development. It highlights the most recent progress on signals, machinery, and pathways in the plant cell. Emphasis is placed on integrating these studies with those on cell division, cell plate formation, and other aspects of plant development, in order to elucidate the intricate relationships between them.

1 Protein Sorting and Post-translation Modification

Mechanisms for the Transport of Soluble Proteins to the Vacuole in Plants
Aquaporins: Their Role and Regulation in Cellular Water Movement
Transport of Cytoplasmically Synthesized Proteins into Chloroplasts
2 Membrane Channels and Pumps
On the Structure and Function of Plant K+ Channels
Integration of Ion Channel Activity in Calcium Signalling Pathways
Protein Kinase and Phosphatase Regulation During Abscisic Acid Signaling and Ion Channel Regulation in Guard Cells
3 Signal Transduction
UV and Blue Light Signal Transduction in the Regulation of Flavonoid Biosynthesis Gene Expression in Arabidopsis
Molecular Approaches to Biochemical Purification: the COP9 Complex Paradigm
4 Transcriptional and Post-transcriptional Pathways
Silencing of Gene Expression in the Anthocyanin Regulatory Gene Families
Quelling: Transgene-Induced Gene Silencing in Neurospora crassa
Import and Editing of Plant Mitochondrial Transfer RNAs
mRNA Decay Machinery in Plants: Approaches and Potential Components
5 The Regulation and Manipulation of the Biosynthetic Pathways
Molecular Cloning and Characterization of two cDNAs Encoding Enzymes Required for Secondary Cell Wall Biosynthesis in Maize
Dissecting Light Repression of the Asparagine Synthetase Gene (AS1) in Arabidopsis
Genetic Approaches to Understanding the Regulation of Tryptophan Biosynthesis
Indole Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Catharanthus roseus: the Establishment of a Model System
6 Embryogenesis
Surface Control of Cell Polarity, the Plane of Cell Division, and Cell Fate in Fucus Embryos
Induction and Progression of Somatic Embryogenesis
Identification of Genes Expressed During Arabidopsis thaliana Embryogenesis Using Enhancer Trap and Gene TrapDs-Transposons
7 Post-embryonic Development
Clonal Analysis in Plant Development
Laser Ablation in Arabidopsis Roots: a Tool to Study Cell-to-Cell Communication
Homeodomain-Leucine Zipper Proteins in the Control of Plant Growth and Development
8 Cell-Cell Communication
Self-Incompatibility: Self/Nonself Discrimination Between Pollen and Pistil
Intercellular and Intracellular Trafficking: What We Can Learn from Geminivirus Movement
Signaling During Legume Root Symbiosis
Alternate Methods of Gene Discovery-the Candidate EST Approach and DNA Microarrays
Use of Transient Expression in Plants for the Study of the "Gene-for-Gene" Interaction.