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changes which occur in plant tissues during develop-ment and in response to various stimuli.

The techniques described in the book range fromthe well-established, such as two-dimensional poly-acrylamide gel electrophoresis of proteins, to therelatively new, such as interaction cloning using thetwo-hybrid system. Although many of the techniquesare also described in general molecular biology man-uals, the fact that they are described here by plantscientists ensures that the methods chosen are applica-ble to plants (not a trivial point) and that useful hintsand suggestions for applying them to plant gene isola-tion are included. Each chapter comprises an overviewof a technique, some methods and protocols and, insome cases, an assessment of the potential problems.For this reason, it will be of interest to both postgrad-uates and researchers as a reference volume as well asa bench manual.

Nigel G. HalfordIACR – Long Ashton Research Station

University of Bristol, UK

Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteria. Edited byRobert E. Blankenship, Michael T. Madigan and CarlE. Bauer. 1995. 1331 pp. Kluwer Academic Publishers,Dordrecht, The Netherlands. GBP 303.00. ISBN 0-7923-3681-X.

This book is the second volume in the series ‘Advancesin Photosynthesis’ with Govindjee as series editor. It isan impressive tome of 62 chapters covering ten majorthemes: (1) Taxonomy, physiology and ecology, (2)Molecular structure of pigments and cofactors, (3)Membrane and cell wall structure, (4) Antenna struc-ture and function, (5) Reaction centre structure andelectron/proton pathways, (6) Cyclic electron transfer,(7) Metabolic processes, (8) Genetics, (9) Regulationof gene expression, and (10) Applications.

Individual contributors have been given the oppor-tunity to develop topics in depth resulting in a volumewhich provides a comprehensive reference source forresearchers with an interest in these organisms in par-ticular or an interest in photosynthesis generally. Forexample, Chapter 9 gives an account of heme andporphyrin biosynthesis and includes the work doneon plants, algae and cyanobacteria. Cross-references

between chapters with common themes are also pro-vided.

This is a book packed with information forresearchers at all levels. It should prove a worthysuccessor toThe Photosynthetic Bacteria, published17 years earlier. Since then, there has accumulated awealth of research, most notably in the area of geneticswhich is given ample coverage in parts 8 and 9. TheAnoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteriawill be a valuable,though costly, addition to any library and should fulfilthe editors hope in becoming the definitive volume onthese organisms.

Simon GilbertIACR – Long Ashton

Bristol, UK

Agricultural Biotechnology. Edited by Arie Altman.Marcel Dekker, Inc., 270 Madison Avenue, NewYork, USA. 1998. 770 pp$117.50 (Hardcover). ISBN0-8247-9439-7

Biotechnology is a broad church which embraces arange of disciplines, from fermentation technology togenetic engineering. This is apparent in the presentvolume which aims to provide a comprehensive hand-book to the application of biotechnology to agriculturaland marine production systems. In order to do this theeditor, assisted by a four person international advisoryboard, has assembled an impressive array of authors tocontribute thirty-six chapters written at a level suitablefor the expert and non-specialist alike.

The range of topics is wide with the chaptersbroadly grouped into four sections dedicated to plants,livestock, marine and agro-biotechnology. Many ofthe topics are probably outside the research interests ofthe average reader of this journal, for example, trans-genic fish and marine invertebrates. Nevertheless, theymake fascinating reading. The nine chapters devotedto plants are clearly relevant, focusing onin vitro prop-agation and conservation, crop improvement (asexualcell genetics, transformation and industrial crops) andmetabolite production (including secondary metabo-lites and foreign compounds). Similarly, the agro-biotechnology section includes accounts of biocontrolof bacteria and fungi, transgenic approaches to insect