Handbook of photosynthesis, 2nd edition. * Pessarakli M. (ed). 2005. Boca Raton: CRC Press. $159{middle dot}95 (hardback). 928 pp.

The motto of the PhotosynthesisCongress in Brisbane in 2001 was that ‘photosynthesissimply sustains all life on Earth’. For this reason, photosynthesisis a large, well-researched area, so it is especially ambitiousto put together a handbook that attempts to cover the wholesubject. This volume is definitely not a handbook in the sensethat it provides a compendium for the novice, but instead itis a conspectus of areas of     

UV Effects in Aquatic Organisms and Ecosystems. Edited by Helbling, E. W. and Zagarese, H. (2003) The Royal Society of Chemistry, Springer Verlag, Cambridge, UK. $290.00. ISBN 0-854-04301-2.

All Earthly events can be eventually blamed on the Sun. Is itnot? There is no doubt that solar radiation is a fundamental forcein nature. At least two earlier books have dealt with the premisethat solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) penetrating our wateryplanet profoundly impacts both the living as well as the non-livingcomponents (Calkins, 1982; De Mora et al., 2000). Today, inan     

Plant ecology. * Schulze ED, Beck E, Muller-Hohenstein K. 2005. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer. $89{middle dot}95 (hardback). 702 pp.

This book (a translation fromSchulze et al., 2002) is one of the most comprehensive textbooksof plant ecology so far. The authors aim to ‘for the firsttime bring together and clearly organize the large subdisciplinesof plant ecology’ and, to a large extent they have succeeded.The book is well written, and its more than 500 illustrationsare beautifully laid out and well chosen to help the readerunderstand the theory. It is clearly suitable not only     

Molecular ecotoxicology of plants. Ecological Studies Vol. 170. * Sandermann H. ed. 2004. * Berlin: Springer. $89{middle dot}95 (hard cover). 241 pp.

Googling the term‘molecular ecotoxicology’ results in less than 1000hits compared to more than 8·5 million for ‘moleculargenetics’. Hence, we are dealing with a rather new orless well-defined and less propagated field of science. Springer'sbook Molecular ecotoxicology of plants edited by H. Sandermannmay therefore fill a gap and it is unique in focusing on plants.A first introductory chapter sets the stage and tries to definethe term for a broad     

The Biogeochemistry of Submerged Soils. * Kirk, G. 2004. * Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. {pound}100 (hardcover). 304 pp.

One can learn a lot about thegeochemistry of submerged soils in this book by Kirk. However,it is not, as the title implies, focused on the biogeochemistryof all submerged soils. In Chapter 1 Kirk gives a very briefoverview     

Ethics for life scientists. * Korthals M, Bogers RJ. eds. 2005. * Berlin: Springer. $59{middle dot}95 (paperback). 236 pp.

The motivationfor producing this book is summed up in its last chapter byone of the editors: ‘Life sciences concentrate on lifeand death; this simple statement stands for most of the urgentethical problems these sciences are confronted with ... Thelife sciences cannot escape from ethical issues, controversies,dilemmas even ... In this collection of papers we have intensivelydiscussed the new and often uncertain aspects of     

Plant-pollinator interactions: from specialization to generalization * Waser NM, Ollerton J. eds. 2006. * Chicago: Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. $45 (paperback). 488 pp.

Highly specializedpollination systems, such as figs and their wasp or orchidsthat deceive bees in trying to make them mate with their floralorgans, are intuitively appealing to most people and have, therefore,gained far more attention both in popular and scientific literaturethan the more generalized pollination systems. For a long timethe dominant view was that many, or perhaps even most, plant–pollinatorinteractions were specialized. In 1996 Waser and his colleaguestried to stir things up by writing an article in which theyargued that, in contrast to common belief, generalization waswidespread in plant–pollinator systems. Ten     

Principles of soil and plant water relations. * Kirkham, M. B. 2005. * Boston: Elsevier Academic Press. $79.95 (hardback). 500 pp.

The word order of the title isan important clue to the focus and main strength of Kirkham'sbook, which is its exploration of water movement in the soiland how it is measured. Plant water relations take a back seat,accounting for approximately one-third of the 27 chapters. Unlikethe title, the book's cover image of a savannah-like tree issomewhat misleading, for the examples, methods and instrumentationdiscussed in the text are chiefly agronomic, with an emphasison corn (maize) and wheat. The book's preface     

Plant diversity in Lythrum,Phragmites, and Typhamarshes,Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Concern about colonization of marshesby plant species such as Phragmites australisand Lythrum salicariahas highlighted the needfor management strategies. However, there is a lack ofinformation in the literature on which to base thesedecisions. This study compares the alpha diversity ofmarshes to assess the impact of invasion by Phragmitesand Lythrum. Species occurrence andstem density were measured in marshes dominated by Phragmites, Lythrum, Typhaspp., or otherherbaceous perennials in the Charles River watershedin eastern Massachusetts, USA, and species richness,Shannon's H, Simpson's reciprocal (1/D), and Pielou'sJ were compared among six community types. The threediversity indices had significantly higher values forTypha-Lythrummarshes than for any of the othermarsh types (Tukey test, p< 0.05), with mean values(± s.d.) of H = 2.00 ± 0.74, 1/D = 3.51± 1.68 and J = 0.69 ± 0.1. Marshes dominatedby Phragmiteshad the lowest diversity, with H= 0 and D = 1, i.e. they were monospecific. Typhadominated marshes had the second lowest values,with H = 0.17 ± 0.05, 1/D = 1.05 ± 0.01, andJ = 0.11 ± 0.03. These results support the ideathat a reduction in diversity can be expected inmarshes colonized by Phragmites. However, thehigh diversity found in the Typha-Lythrummarshes contradicts the expectation of lower diversityafter invasion by Lythrum. This information mayalter marsh management decisions.     

Methods in molecular biology, volume 286. Transgenic plants. Methods and protocols. * Pena L, ed. 2005. * Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press. $115 (hardback). 448 pp

This publication has much to offerin terms of valuable information for the student beginning ontheir quest for knowledge, but also for the more experiencedscientist in terms of emphasizing the problems and subsequentconsequences of the generation of transgenic crops. The bookbegins with     

Floral biology, pollination and fertilisation in temperate zone fruit species and grape. * Kozma P, Nyeki J, Soltesz M, Szabo Z. 2003. * Budapest: Akademiai Kiado. $98 (hardback).621 pp.

The primary focus of this book is to discuss the floral biologyof the fruit crops including apple, grape, Ribes, Rubus, strawberry,the stone fruits and several     

Instant notes in plant biology, 2nd edn. * Lack A, Evans D. 2005. * Oxford: Taylor and Francis. {pound}18.99 (paperback). 351 pp.

The ‘InstantNotes’ series from Bios will probably be familiar to manyreaders. The series' success is evident in the second editionsthat are appearing, e.g. the current volume—albeit nowunder the Taylor and Francis label. Content This book does what it says on the label; it provides noteson (probably) all of the topics within the compass of present-day‘plant biology’. Primarily, it deals with anatomy,growth and development, physiology, reproduction, and economicuses and ecology of flowering plants (angiosperms). However,it does cover other phyla of the Kingdom Plantae (principallyin two ‘taxonomy/evolution’ sections), and algae(along     

(h)GR,beans and drought stress

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are commonly found in plants as natural by-products of the metabolism but their production is greatly enhanced under abiotic stresses. Particular metabolites and enzymes belonging to the ascorbate-glutathione cycle are able to scavenge these deleterious molecules and modulate the cellular redox-status. In the March issue of Journal of Plant Physiology, we have shown that drought stress induces a raise in glutathione reductase (GR) activity and gene expression that could be related to the intensity of the drought treatment and the drought susceptibility of the bean cultivar (cowpea and/or common bean). In the present addendum we show new data on GR specific activity during progressive drought stress and recovery of the drought-susceptible bean cultivar which can be related to the previously found dual-targeted GR gene expression. Furthermore, since in leguminous plants homoglutathione (hGSH) is generally the most abundant low molecular weight thiol form, we discuss on the occurrence of a (homo)glutathione reductase activity in beans.Key words: common bean, cowpea, drought stress, (homo)glutathione, (homo)glutathione reductase, legumes, Phaseolus vulgaris, recovery, Vigna unguiculataDrought stress is the most common form of abiotic stress and plants are likely to encounter periods of water shortage at least once in their lifecycle. One of the inevitable consequences of drought stress is enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production which will imbalance the cellular redox-status. This shift in the steady-state cellular redox-status is currently believed to have an initial signaling effect, triggering adaptive/defense responses (reviewed in ref. ¹). However, in order to avoid oxidative stress, enhanced ROS production must be kept under tight control by the cellular antioxidant machinery. Glutathione reductase (GR; EC 1.6.4.2) is a major cellular antioxidant enzyme. It belongs to the ascorbate-glutathione cycle and it is ubiquitously found in all cellular compartments.² Using several bean plants (common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris and cowpea, Vigna unguiculata) as a model system to study drought responses and relate them to the degree of drought tolerance and/or susceptibility, we have shown that severe drought stress leads to an enhanced cellular GR activity related to the drought susceptibility of the cultivar.^3,4 Similar results have also been found in a wheat system composed of drought-tolerant and susceptible cultivars.⁵ Regarding the more susceptible cultivar of our bean system (P.v. Carioca) and under severe drought stress (S3, Ψ_w = −2.0 MPa; RWC = 50.9%), total leaf GR activity was raised to approximately 200% when compared to control plants (C, Ψ_w = −0.5 MPa; RWC = 95.3%) (Fig. 1). This could translate a higher degree of oxidative stress due to enhanced ROS production in drought-susceptible cultivars than in drought-tolerant ones. In fact it has been shown that at the cellular level these drought-susceptible bean plants suffer a higher degree of membrane integrity loss when compared to the drought-tolerant.^6–8 This can be related to enhanced ROS production since proteins and lipids of cellular membranes are main targets of ROS peroxidation.⁹Open in a separate windowFigure 1GR-specific activity and relative water content (RWC%) in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) ‘Carioca’ leaves. GR-specific activity and RWC were measured in control, severely drought stressed and on rewatered plants. Values are means ± s.d. of three to five independent measurements. GR activity was assayed by following the oxidation of NADPH (decrease in absorbance at 340 nm) and expressed in nmoles min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ protein. RWC was measured according to Weatherley.²⁴ Control plants (C), Ψ_w = −0.5 MPa; severely droughted plants (S3), Ψ_w = −2.0 MPa; 24 h rehydrated plant (24R), Ψ_w = −0.5 MPa; 48 h rehydrated plant (48R), Ψ_w = −0.5 MPa.Considering the responses to drought at the whole-plant level, susceptible and tolerant beans also differ. In fact, drought-tolerant bean cultivars present a water-saving strategy by precocious control of stomatal opening which allows for photosynthetic activity to proceed at lower leaf Ψ_w.^10–12 The maintenance of stomatal opening and photosynthetic activity during drought stress results in lower ROS production by photorespiration and/or the Mehler reaction as opposed to complete stomatal closure where inhibition of CO₂ fixation occurs.¹ Indeed, in the drought-tolerant cowpea cultivar, total GR activity was found constant throughout the progressive drought treatment.³After 24 h rewatering (24R, Ψ_w = −0.5 MPa; RWC = 88.1%), from a moderate water stress: Ψ_w = −1.5 MPa; RWC = 69.2%, GR activity in the drought-susceptible bean cultivar was further raised by ∼270% as compared to control (Fig. 1). This enhanced GR activity can be directly related to the upregulation of the dual-targeted form of the bean GR gene (PvGRdt) (targeted to both chloroplasts and mitochondria) observed on rewatering of this drought-susceptible cultivar.⁴ In fact a significant upregulation of PvGRdt was detected as soon as 6 h after rewatering and the high expression levels were maintained up to 24 h after rewatering to then decrease at 48 h after rewatering.⁴ Hence in the drought-susceptible cultivar it seems that the dual-targeted form is more responsive to drought and rewatering than the cytosolic form. The same pattern was also seen on the less tolerant cowpea cultivar.³ Enhanced dual-targeted GR expression (and GR activity) under drought could be related to enhanced ROS production at those particular cellular compartments (mitochondria and chloroplasts). In fact, under a PEG-induced water deficit, drought-susceptible bean plants showed a higher number of disorganized chloroplasts when compared to the drought-tolerant,⁷ indicating that these organelles experienced oxidative stress during the treatment.The GR enzyme is responsible for the reduction of glutathione disulfide (GSSG) to glutathione (GSH) using NADPH, and not only it keeps glutathione in the reduced state but it is also responsible for the maintenance of the cellular GSH:GSSG ratio.^13,14 Interestingly, in leguminous plants such as the present bean plants, homoglutathione (hGSH) replaces completely or in part, glutathione (GSH). Homoglutathione has been shown to be the most abundant tripeptide in common bean and pea (Pisum sativum),¹⁵ in soybean (Glycine max),¹⁶ and in Lotus japonicus.¹⁷ The synthesis of hGSH proceeds through two ATP-dependent steps, the first step being common with GSH synthesis, the second step adding a β-Alanine instead of a Glycine to form the tripeptide. In the case of cowpea, which was up to now considered to be a non hGSH producing legume,¹⁵ we have recently detected the presence of a homoglutathione synthetase (hGSHS) mRNA and activity (MH Cruz de Carvalho, J Brunet, A Lameta, Y Zuily-Fodil and D Contour-Ansel, unpublished data).Besides the chemical difference of the two thiol tripeptides, many of the roles ascribed to GSH are also performed by hGSH,^18,19 particularly the control of the cellular redox status and ROS scavenging.²⁰ However, the presence of hGSH questions on the occurrence of a homoglutathione reductase (hGR). A role for hGR as a detoxifying enzyme of the ascorbate-glutathione cycle has been suggested, using hGSSG (oxidized homoglutathione) instead of GSSG (oxidized glutathione), thus maintaining the cellular homoglutathione pool in the reduced state and acting as an antioxidative molecule in these plants.^21,22 It can hence be suggested that in beans and other leguminous plants where both thiols co-exist (hGSH and GSH), the (h)GR enzyme will act as either a GR or a hGR in accordance to the thiol utilized in the ascorbate-glutathione cycle.     

The plant cytoskeleton in cell differentiation and development. Annual Plant Reviews, volume 10. * Hussey PJ, ed. 2004. * Oxford: Blackwell Publishing/Boca Raton: CRC Press. * {pound}99{middle dot}50 (hardback). 325 pp

Over 40 years ago, in what is surelyone of the most famous ‘throw-away lines’ in botany,Ledbetter and Porter (1963) suggested that the similar orientationsof cytoplasmic microtubules and structures considered to becellulose microfibrils in the cell wall was not coincidental.This notion led almost single-handedly to the present and enduringinterest amongst certain plant cell biologists in understandingthe role of microtubules in wall formation. And as a resultof this intense interest in such matters, it has become clearthat microtubules are not only ‘just one’ componentamongst an ever-expanding array of     

Systematic botany of flowering plants, 2nd edn. * Spichiger R-E, Savolainen V, Figeat M, Jeanmond D. eds. 2004. * Enfield, New Hampshire: Science Publishers, Inc. $58(softback). 413 pp. plus CD-ROM.

Spichiger et al. introduce a studentwithout too much botanical knowledge to the diversity of floweringplants in this text, which is a translation from the Frenchof the second edition, published in 2002. Five brief introductorychapters lead to the main part of the book, short and well-illustratedaccounts of 113 families. There is also a glossary and an identificationkey to tropical families; a taxon index and a CD-ROM completethe book. The CD-ROM includes 350 photographs of the familiesdescribed, separate lists of medicinal and non-medicinal usesof plants     

C-banding patterns in the AustralianBulbine (Liliaceae): The perennial group,B. bulbosa s. lato

C-banding studies support earlier evidence thatB. bulbosa, as a previously circumscribed, is heterogeneous, consisting of three distinct entities: (1) theB. bulbosa complex (B. bulbosa s. str.) at 4x (2n = 24), 8x (2n = 48) and 12x (2n = 72) ploidy levels, (2) the rock lily and (3) the Kroombit population (both 2n = 46). Each of these three main groups has a distinctive banding profile, though centromeric and telomeric dot bands, variably expressed, are common to all. In theB. bulbosa complex, substantial heterochromatin development, apart from bands associated with the NORs on chromosomes 1 L, 2 S and 3 L, occurs only at the terminal regions of the short arms of the large and middlesized acrocentric chromosomes, with considerable polymorphic and polytypic variation in the number and size of the heterochromatic blocks, especially at the 4x level. Queensland 8xB. bulbosa populations differ in having terminal heterochromatin, probably associated with NORs, on 11 S and 12 S, and in having some strong interstitial bands. The differences appear to correlate with attributes relating to flower morphology, and may have systematic significance. The karyotypes of rock lily and Kroombit are somewhat similar but the former has a characteristic C-band profile with multiple interstitial bands on chromosomes 1–5 and 7–9, whereas the latter has only one interstitial band on chromosome 9.First contribution of a series on cytoevolution in the AustralianBulbine. Two introductory papers in Austral. J. Bot.34 (2)     

Valerie Andersen (1959 2007)

Valérie Andersen formally began her career in oceanographywith a PhD from the Université de Pierre et Marie Curiein 1985. Her thesis (Andersen, 1985a) was centred on the developmentof numerical models of the pelagic food web. However, it wasfirmly based on her experimental studies of salps (Andersen,1985b, 1986, 1989; Andersen and Nival, 1986) and data she gatheredon cruises in the N.W. Mediterranean Sea (Andersen and     

Muscle-Derived IL-6 Is Not Regulated by IL-1 during Exercise. A Double Blind,Placebo-Controlled,Randomized Crossover Study

Exercise increases muscle derived Interleukin–6 (IL–6) leading to insulin secretion via glucagon-like peptide–1. IL–1 antagonism improves glycemia and decreases systemic inflammation including IL–6 in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, it is not known whether physiological, exercise-induced muscle-derived IL–6 is also regulated by the IL–1 system. Therefore we conducted a double blind, crossover study in 17 healthy male subjects randomized to receive either the IL–1 receptor antagonist IL-1Ra (anakinra) or placebo prior to an acute treadmill exercise. Muscle activity led to a 2–3 fold increase in serum IL–6 concentrations but anakinra had no effect on this exercise-induced IL–6. Furthermore, the IL–1 responsive inflammatory markers CRP, cortisol and MCP–1 remained largely unaffected by exercise and anakinra. We conclude that the beneficial effect of muscle-induced IL–6 is not meaningfully affected by IL–1 antagonism.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01771445     

C-banding patterns in the AustralianBulbine (Liliaceae): The annual group,B. semibarbata s. lato

Chromosome C-band patterns have been studied in 34 populations of the Australian annualBulbine group, which comprises 4x (2n = 26, 28), 8x (2n = 52, 54) and 12x (2n = 78) populations. The 2n = 26B. semibarbata populations have a simple, low heterochromatin pattern with very minor polytypic variation. The 2n = 28 populations, corresponding morphologically to a group given separate status asB. alata, are similar in pattern but exhibit pronounced enhancement of telomeric and, more particularly, centromeric dot bands. NOR heterochromatin and satellites are difficult to identify inB. alata but appear to occur in different positions from the 26-chromosome karyotype. Eastern Australian 8 x patterns are consistent with a proposed hybrid ancestry,B. semibarbata ×B. alata. Annual and perennial C-band profiles in the AustralianBulbine are discussed briefly in relation to the additive and transformation models of heterochromatin evolution and to the possible adaptive significance of variation in heterochromatin content.Cytoevolution in the AustralianBulbine 2; for part 1 see Pl. Syst. Evol.157, 201–217.