The control of plant gene expression at the transcriptional level is the main subject of this volume. Genetics, molecular biology and gene technology have dramatically improved our knowledge of this event. The functional analysis of promoters and transcription factors provides more and more insights into the molecular anatomy of initiation complexes assembled from RNA polymerase and the multiplicity of helper and control proteins. Formation of specific DNA-protein complexes - activating or repressing transcription - is the crux of developmental or environmental control of gene expression. The book presents an up-to-date, critical overview of this rapidly advancing field.

A: Plant Transcription Systems

1 Structural Organization and Regulation of Transcription by RNA Polymerase I of Plant Nuclear Ribosomal RNA Genes
2 RNAPII: A Specific Target for the Cell Cycle Kinase Complex
3 Plastid Differentiation: Organelle Promoters and Transcription Factors
4 AT-Rich Elements (ATREs) in the Promoter Regions of Nodulin and Other Higher Plant Genes: a Novel Class of Cis-Acting Regulatory Element?
5 In Vitro Transcription of Plant Nuclear Genes
B: Promoters Regulated by Stress and Developmental Signals
6 Heat Stress Promoters and Transcription Factors
7 Regulatory Elements Governing Pathogenesis-Related (PR) Gene Expression
8 Analysis of Tissue-Specific Elements in the CaMV 35S Promoter
9 Analysis of Ocs-Element Enhancer Sequences and Their Binding Factors
10 Regulation of a-Zein Gene Expression During Maize Endosperm Development
11 Control of Floral Organ Identity by Homeotic MADS-Box Transcription Factors
12 The GL1 Gene and the Trichome Developmental Pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana.