Annals of Botany 84 : 685–687, 1999Article No. anbo.1999.0969, available online at http:}}www.idealibrary.com on

Book Reviews

Atwell BJ, Kriedemann PE, Turnbull CGN. 1999. Plantsin action: adaptation in nature, performance in cul-ti�ation. 664 pp. South Yarra, Victoria : MacmillanEducation Australia. AU $74.95 (hardback).

The eighteenth century European settlers of Australiaencountered hunter-gatherers inhabiting the only continentwithout any agriculture or indigenous crops. Had thesettlers brought Mediterranean cereals and seed legumes,the establishment of colonial agriculture might have avoidedmany of the difficulties experienced using predominantlyBritish varieties that flowered too late and tried to produceseed in the hottest and driest Australian months. From thelatter part of the nineteenth century onwards, Australianbreeders began to utilize more international germplasm totransform crop adaptation in their country, so much so thatby 1935 Vavilov stated that ‘ there is probably no regionwhere intraspecific and interspecific hybridization of wheathas been so extensive as in Australia ’. Today, new challengesconfront Australasian plant scientists. Agriculture andforestry occupy 70% of the Australian landscape, much ofwhich is not sustainably productive after 200 years ofexploitation, due to soil erosion, acidification and salini-zation. Many indigenous species are endangered, whilelarge numbers of pests have arisen from introduced plantsand animals. New Zealand faces its own severe problems.The new undergraduate textbook Plants in action iseffectively a manifesto by the Australasian plant sciencecommunity for a response to these challenges by de-velopment of their historical excellence within the key themeof ‘genotype¬environment interactions’.

The book has over 120 contributors, only three of whomare based outside Australia or New Zealand, and thecopyright is owned by the Australian Society of PlantPhysiologists (ASPP), the New Zealand Society of PlantPhysiologists, and the New Zealand Society for Hor-ticultural Science. The book lives up to the editors’declaration that ‘Plants in action has a conspicuouslyAustralasian flavour, drawing on examples from themultifarious natural and managed ecosystems that dis-tinguish our region from the higher latitudes of NorthAmerica and Europe, [and on] special features of our post-Gondwanan flora’. It would be a peculiarly insular ‘higherlatitude’ plant biologist who failed to be intrigued by thistheme, and it will be interesting to see whether the excellenceof Plants in action’s physiology teaching finds it worldwideapplication as a course textbook. Ralph Slatyer’s ‘Preamble’expresses the view that the book’s Australasian roots willensure that it is relevant not just to the problems ofdeveloped countries but also to those of developingcountries.

Most of us will see the need for Plants in action to sell itsvision of the future of plant biology by commencing with 19pages of a fascinating series of ‘Perspectives in plant

science’, which include Lloyd Evans on crop adaptation inAustralasia, a case study on cotton by Brian Hearn, andDon Adamson on the evolution and biogeography of theAustralasian flora. Essays by John Passioura and PaulKriedemann explain the book’s scientific philosophy asseeking to engender a two-way flow of information betweenreductionist ‘process ’ physiology and ‘ integrative ’ researchthat synthesizes detailed knowledge of interacting compo-nents in crop management and simulation models.

The first of the three main parts of the book, ‘Processesand resources for growth’, is a structure-before-functionapproach to whole-plant physiology. Leaf anatomy and gasexchange, along with chloroplasts and energy capture, arecovered before the biochemistry of CO

#assimilation and

respiration, which unfortunately results in a case study onA:p

icurves by von Caemmerer and Farquhar coming

before the necessary background of Rubisco biochemistry.Root anatomy and architecture, with mycorrhizal andsymbiotic associations, are related to the absorption ofwater and nutrients, prior to a discussion of cell growth,which integrates the traditional biophysics and physicalchemistry of membrane transport, water relations and cellexpansion with recent advances on membrane transportersand channels, including aquaporins, and cell wall bio-chemistry, including expansins. A vascular integrationchapter covers long-distance xylem transport, vein endingsand export pathways, distribution of photoassimilates,phloem transport, loading and unloading, and sink utili-zation. The section is rounded off with quantitative plantgrowth analysis, environmental and developmental in-fluences on growth, and crop growth analysis. The chaptersare all characterized by thoughtful and up-to-date ex-position, with lucid illustrations. Careful explanations aregiven of experimental approaches and techniques, e.g. thetheory and use of chlorophyll fluorescence meters, andpressure probes. Some examples of the boxed features bydistinguished experts are Hatch on C

%photosynthesis,

Robertson on ATP synthase ‘knobs’, Bieleski on biologicalpumps, Gunning on cell walls, and Pate on legume C and Npartitioning.

The next part on ‘Coordination of growth and re-production’ presents in some ways the most interestingchallenge for the integrative ambitions of the book, becauseof the quantity of reductionist (i.e. molecular genetic)progress in this area, which has to be rendered manageableand agriculturally applicable. Whereas plant hormones, forexample, may occupy 20% of a reductionist plant physi-ology textbook, they are compressed into 5% of Plants inaction. While this approach has to be less comprehensive,the result nevertheless has great integrity and value.Although due reference is made to recent molecularadvances, these are balanced with classical research,according to commercial significance within plant life cycles

0305-7364}99}110685­03 $30.00}0 # 1999 Annals of Botany Company

686 Book Re�iews

rather than technical glamour. The result is a usefulphysiological orientation for molecular biologists as muchas a molecular update for crop physiologists. I would advisethe editors, however, to enhance the impression of modernityby indexing Arabidopsis in future editions. Differentiation,gene expression, and the construction and prospects oftransgenic plants are clearly covered. Particular attention isdevoted to reproductive processes, including floral biology,induction of flowering and its timing, and fruit growth andpostharvest physiology.

The last, but longest, part is ‘Ecophysiology in naturaland managed communities ’. These chapters commence withsunlight : sun and shade including rainforest gaps, photo-protection, ultraviolet radiation, and the effects of sunlightand canopy architecture on agricultural, forest and hor-ticultural production. Carbon dioxide assimilation is thenstudied in the contexts of global carbon budget, responsesto elevated environmental CO

#of C

$�s. C

%leaves and

tropical trees, and practical applications of CO#enrichment

in horticulture. The temperature chapter covers the effectsof heat, chilling and freezing from the biochemical to thefield level. Water as a limiting physiological factor isdiscussed in relation to crop water use efficiency, irrigation,phenology and drought resistance, and also to water use bysavanna woodlands, open forests and epiphytes. Agri-cultural production on Australia’s impoverished soils hasbeen severely limited by widespread nutrient deficiencies,which are discussed in detail along with soil acidity andtoxicities. Another chapter is devoted to the now urgentissue of salinity tolerance, with reference to crops, halo-phytes, mangroves and aquatic organisms, along withdiscussion of the utilization of salt-affected land. Water-logging and submergence are examined in relation not onlyto crops, but also to Australian swamps, and to marineseagrasses, of which Australia has 38 out of 66 worldwidespecies. A chapter is devoted to plant adaptations to thefires that characterize Australian ecosystems, and whichpalynological evidence suggests have influenced ecosystemsin the continent for the past 15 million years. A brief finalchapter deals with the remarkable Australian grass weed ofarable crops, Lolium rigidum, which can evolve resistance toa new herbicide after only 3 years.

Plants in action is aimed at upper level undergraduates inuniversities and colleges that teach plant and environmentalsciences, agriculture, horticulture and forestry. I concurwith the authors’ view that postgraduate students andprofessionals will also find useful reference material in thisinspirational textbook, which fully deserves its AustralianPublishers Award as the Best Tertiary Textbook of 1999.There is also a CD-ROM Teaching Kit for AU $100, whichcontains all the book’s excellent figures and tables in printand projection formats. Details are on the ASPP website athttp:}}biology.anu.edu.au}aspp}pia.html.

Ian Scott

Callow JA, ed. 1998. Ad�ances in botanical research. Volume28. 294 pp. San Diego, London: Academic Press.$99.95 (hardback).

The preface to this volume provides a brief summary of thecontent of each of the six reviews and is followed by atribute to the late Professor Harold W. Woolhouse. In thislatter, Professor Callow acknowledges the tremendouscontribution that Professor Woolhouse made to plantscience and the respect with which he was held in thecommunity. Particularly touching are the references to hispersonal qualities and the inspiration he provided for somany.

The first review, by Palmgren, describes the differentproton pumps detected in plant cells, emphasizing currentthoughts on the nature and roles of plasma membrane H+-ATPases. Studies using both in �itro and in �i�o approachesare outlined, and the advantages and disadvantages of eachstated in relation to furthering knowledge of functionality.Also included are two phylogenetic trees to illustrateevolutionary aspects of P-type H+-ATPases. Following onfrom this is an article by Tymowska-Lalanne and Kreis on‘Physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology of plantinvertases ’. Initially, the review details some of thefunctional and biochemical characterization of invertasesand factors which influence activity. After addressing themolecular biology of invertase genes and their expression,the article closes with a description of the roles of invertasesat the tissue and organism level.

The rather novel topic of the function of vacuoles infungal hyphae is the subject of the review by Ashford. Heposes the question ‘are they (vacuole systems) endosomesand transport compartments in fungal hyphae?’ and thereview is structured to provide evidence for each. Acomprehensive account is given of the pitfalls encounteredin trying to investigate these structures and in the advancesmade using both biochemical and genetic tools. Returningto higher plants from fungal hyphae, Brutnell and Lang-dale’s article deals with signals in leaf development. A broadapproach has been adopted covering elements of mor-phogenesis and organogenesis to the roles of phytohormonesand light in the determination of leaf form and nuclear-chloroplast interactions during leaf development. The themeof organ development is continued in the article by Irish andKramer on the genetic and molecular analysis of angiospermflower development. Context for the review is given in theinitial sections on the structure and evolution of theangiosperm flower. Thereafter, the genetic basis of floraldevelopment and conservation of molecular mechanismsare discussed. The volume concludes with an article byDumas and colleagues on gametes, fertilization and earlyembryogenesis in flowering plants. In addition to valuabledescriptions of morphological aspects, the importance ofmolecular techniques in making progress in studies on plantreproductive biology is emphasized.

Comprehensive author and subject indices are included atthe end of the text.

Overall, this volume contains well-structured and clearlywritten research reviews which were interesting and en-joyable to read. Although some of the figures appear basic

Book Re�iews 687

in terms of presentation, I did not find that this detractedfrom the high quality of the articles. One reservation is thatthis book contains a rather disparate series of topics and inour IT age with constraints on time, the appeal, impact andsignificance may be less than in previous years. Also beingpriced at nearly $100 may restrict purchase to that oflibraries. However, many readers will find this book valuablein obtaining an overview of a topic outside their direct fieldof research and in providing a teaching resource for moreadvanced students.

A. R. Smith

Nobel PS. 1999. Physicochemical and en�ironmental plantphysiology. 2nd edn. 474 pp. London: Academic Press.£39.95 (softback).

This text is the second edition of a book first published in1991, but its ancestry goes back to books published at a timeof major advances in plant physiology in the 1970s. As theauthor himself states, a primary objective is to useelementary chemistry, physics and mathematics to explainconcepts that are key to the understanding of various areasof plant physiology in particular and biology in general.This objective is admirably met.

The structure of the book is such that different chapterscover different aspects of plant physiology, and the textexplores in detail the mathematics of the various laws andprinciples that govern the chemical and engineering conceptsinvolved.

Chapters 1–3 cover water relations and ion transport inplant cells, chapters 4–6 deal with the interconversion ofvarious forms of energy, and chapters 7–9 consider thevarious forms in which energy and matter enter and leaveplants as they interact with their environment.

The first part of the book includes a chapter on cells anddiffusion which ranges from the structure of roots, leaves,cells, cell walls and membranes to Fick’s Law andpermeability coefficients, a chapter on the properties ofwater from surface tension to water potential and a chapteron solutes that ranges from description of the chemicalpotential of ions through to mechanisms of ion uptake.

The next section has a chapter on the nature ofelectromagnetic radiation, a chapter on the photochemistryof photosynthesis from pigment excitation through to

electron transport and a chapter on bioenergetics ofprocesses occurring in cells and organelles.

The third, more environmental, section has a chapteron temperature and energy budgets for both leaves andsoil, a chapter specifically on leaves covering resistancesand conductances, carbon dioxide fluxes and water useefficiency and a chapter on fluxes that scales up tocanopies, communities and soil, but which also covers watermovement in xylem and phloem.

In addition to the detailed mathematical exploration ofkey concepts in each chapter there are problems (withworked solutions at the back of the book) that cover thetopics. At the front of the book there is a summary of therepresentative principal equations in each chapter and thereis a comprehensive list of symbols and abbreviations thatincludes typical units. The appendices give numerical valuesof constants and coefficients, conversion factors anddefinitions and mathematical relations to aid those whosemathematical knowledge is rusty.

Production standards are high, and the book is clearlyillustrated in a manner that aids understanding of theconcepts discussed. Each chapter has a comprehensivereference list, although the authors of specific points raisedin the text tend not to be cited. This can cause minorirritation if you come across a point that you were notpreviously aware of and you wish to follow up. However, asthe book is not intended to be a review of current research,but to be a treatise that develops new ideas in its own right,this seems perfectly justified.

The book should be compulsory reading for final yearundergraduate students on plant biology courses, althoughin countries such as the UK where the mathematicalabilities of students are depressingly low, they may find itdifficult. However, it will teach even comparatively innu-merate students the importance of quantitative ideas inbiology, and may stimulate them to make more of an effortto understand mathematical concepts. It should certainly beon the shelves of graduate students in many areas of plantbiology and environmental science. It is a scholarly workthat occupies a unique position in plant physiology texts,and my guess is that it will rapidly become a standardreference book for those of us who keep needing reassurancethat our knowledge of plants and their environment isaccurate.

David J. Pilbeam