This volume focuses on recent advances in the biochemical and molecular analysis of different families of phospholipases in plants and their roles in signaling plant growth, development and responses to abiotic and biotic cues.

The hydrolysis of membrane lipids by phospholipases produces different classes of lipid mediators, including phosphatidic acid, diacylglycerol, lysophospholipids, free fatty acids and oxylipins. Phospholipases are grouped into different families and subfamilies according to their site of hydrolysis, substrate usage and sequence similarities. Activating one or more of these enzymes often constitutes an early, critical step in many regulatory processes, such as signal transduction, vesicular trafficking, secretion and cytoskeletal rearrangements. Lipid-based signaling plays pivotal roles in plant stress responses, cell size, shape, growth, apoptosis, proliferation, and reproduction.

PART I: Plant Phospholipase Families and Derived Messengers

PLD: Phospholipase D and Phosphatidic Acid
PI-PLC: Phosphoinositide-phospholipase Cs in Plant Signalling
NPC: Non-specific Phospholipase Cs in Plant Functions
pPLA: Patatin-Containing Phospholipase A in Plant Signalling
sPLA2 and PLA1: Phospholipase A2 and Phospholipase A1 in Plant Signalling
Biophysical Properties of Lipid Mediators and the Effects on Molecular Interactions
PART II: Phospholipase Signalling in Response to Environmental Stresses
Phospholipases in Plant Response to Reactive Oxygen Species and Hyperosmotic Stress
Phospholipase Ds in Plant Response to Hyperosmotic Stresses
Phospholipases in Plant Response to Nitrogen and Phosphorus Status
PART III: Phospholipases in Plant Biotic Interactions
Lipases in Signalling Plant Defense Responses
Phospholipase A in Plant Immunity
Phospholipases in Regulating Plant-herbivore Interaction
PART IV: Phospholipases in Plant Growth and Development
Phospholipases in Cytoskeleton Dynamics and Plant Growth
Phospholipases and Lipid Signalling in Cytoskeleton and Pollen Tube Growth
Phospholipases and Lipid Signalling in Secretory Pathways
Phospholipase A in Carbon Partitioning and Anisotropic Plant Cell Growth.