Book Review 23
Review
Title: Signal Crosstalk in Plant Stress Responses
Author(s):
Editor(s): Keiko Yoshioka and Kazuo Shinozaki
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing
ISBN 13: 9780813819631
Published: 2009
Pages: 210
Cost: $199.99
Rating (1-5): 5
Submitted By: Noaman, Maher Mohammed
Date posted: January 28, 2010
Exceptional information about plant's crosstalk and phytohormones in plant cycles.
One of the most important plant features in recent years is the phenomenon of signal crosstalk, especially under environmental stress conditions. It is now obvious that the study of signal crosstalk in environmental stress responses will be the main subject for at least the next decade. One of the main challenges, in this regard, is to find out the key elements that work on the molecular level.
Signal Crosstalk in Plant Stress Responses is edited by Keiko Yoshioka, professor in Department of Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Toronto, Canada, and Kazuo Shinozaki, Director of RIKEN Plant Science Center, Japan.
The introduction of the book states that plants are exposed to multiple biotic and abiotic stresses in any environment, that impact growth rates and production yields. Until recently, most of these stresses were investigated independently, resulting in a lack of information on how signal transduction pathways interconnect. This book fills this gap by providing further information on how plants coordinate and prioritize their responses in the presence of multiple stresses, including drought, cold, salt stress, and pathogen infection. The book discusses the most recent progress in our understanding of signals inducing plant resistance and/or susceptibility to pathogens and insect with emphasis on the relations and crosstalk among phytohormone signaling networks that control responses to different types of stresses.
It includes eight chapters covering up-to-date important topics, such as phytohormones in chapter 1, nitrogen-activated protein kinase cascades in chapter 2, transcription factors in chapter 3, calcium signaling pathways in chapter 4, crosstalk in pathogen and hormonal regulation of guard cell signaling in chapter 5, and chapter 6 includes environmental sensitivity in pathogen-resistant Arabidopsis mutants. Chapter 7, on the other hand, focuses on the reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide, and signal crosstalk. Chapter 8 wraps-up with very new and interesting conclusions regarding Target of Rapamycin (TOR) signaling with cell cycle, which states that although plants and animals evolved independently, it is surprising to see the conservation of the TOR pathway in both kingdoms, which is vital for the survival of the organism. Each chapter was written by a leader in each area and summarizes significant discoveries in recent reports.
The book Signal Crosstalk in Plant Stress Responses is an exceptional source of scientific information and knowledge about plant's crosstalk and the role of phytohormones in plant cycles. The book can be widely used by the scientific community (universities, research centers, and institutes) as well as by those who are interested in plant physiology and plant biochemistry. It is also an appropriate and valuable textbook for academic purposes, especially for graduate students studying plant physiology and the like. The book is written by a global team of expert authors from around the world representing different disciplines, and is presented in an easy-to-use format.