Annual Plant Reviews, Volume 20, Flowering and its Manipulation

The flowering plants now dominate the terrestrial ecosystems of the planet, and there are good reasons for supposing that the flower itself has been a major contributing factor to the spread of the Angiosperms. The flowers of higher plants not only contain the organs of plant reproduction but are of fundamental importance in giving rise to fruits and seeds which constitute a major component of the human diet. This volume opens with a chapter describing a model for the evolution of the Angiosperm flower. Chapters 2 to 5 describe the core development of the flower and include floral induction, floral pattering and organ initiation, floral shape and size, and inflorescence architecture. Chapters 6 to 8 focus on more specialised aspects of floral development: monoecy, cytoplasmic male sterility and flowering in perennials. Chapters 9 and 10 address more functional aspects: flower colour and scent. The book concludes, appropriately, with a chapter on flower senescence. Applied aspects are stressed wherever appropriate, and the book is directed at researchers and professionals in plant genetics, developmental and molecular biology. The volume has been designed to complement an earlier volume in our Annual Plant Reviews series, O Neill, S. D. and Roberts, J. A. (2002) Plant Reproduction.

The flowering plants now dominate the terrestrial ecosystems of theplanet, and there are good reasons for supposing that the floweritself has been a major contributing factor to the spread of theAngiosperms. The flowers of higher plants not only contain theorgans of plant reproduction but are of fundamental importance ingiving rise to fruits and seeds which constitute a major componentof the human diet.This volume opens with a chapter describing a model for theevolution of the Angiosperm flower. Chapters 2 to 5 describe thecore development of the flower and include floral induction, floralpattering and organ initiation, floral shape and size, andinflorescence architecture. Chapters 6 to 8 focus on morespecialised aspects of floral development: monoecy, cytoplasmicmale sterility and flowering in perennials. Chapters 9 and 10address more functional aspects: flower colour and scent. The bookconcludes, appropriately, with a chapter on flowersenescence.Applied aspects are stressed wherever appropriate, and the bookis directed at researchers and professionals in plant geneticsdevelopmental and molecular biology.The volume has been designed to complement an earlier volume inour Annual Plant Reviews series, O'Neill, S. D. andRoberts, J. A. (2002) Plant Reproduction.

Contributors.Preface.Part I. Core Development and Genetics.1. A developmental genetic model for the origin of the flower(David A. Baum and Lena C. Hileman, Department of BotanyUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA).2. Floral Induction (Reynald Tremblay and Joseph ColasantiDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of GuelphOntario, Canada).3. Floral patterning and control of floral organ formation(Elena M. Kramer, Department of Organismic and EvolutionaryBiology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA).4. The Genetic Control of Flower Size and Shape (Lynette FultonMartine Batoux, Ram Kishor Yadav and Kay SchneitzEntwicklungsbiologie der Pflanzen, WissenschaftszentrumWeihenstephan, Technische Universität München, FreisingGermany).5. Inflorescence architecture: Moving beyond description (SusanR. Singer, Department of Biology, Carleton College, NorthfieldMinnesota, USA).Part II. Specialised Components of Development.6. Close, yet separate: patterns of male and female floraldevelopment in monoecious species (Rafael Perl-Treves and PremAnand Rajagopalan, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan UniversityRamat Gan, Israel).7. Cytoplasmic male sterility (Françoise Budar, PascalTouzet & Georges Pelletier, Station de Génétique etd'Amélioration des Plantes, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin INRA, Versailles, France).8. The diversity and significance of flowering in perennials(Theresa Townsend, School of Plant Sciences, University of ReadingBerkshire, UK; Maria Albani, Max Planck Institute for PlantBreeding Research, Cologne, Germany; Mike Wilkinson, School ofPlant Sciences, University of Reading, Berkshire, UK; GeorgeCoupland, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding ResearchCologne, Germany; and Nick H. Battey, School of Plant SciencesUniversity of Reading, Berkshire, UK)..Part III. A Developmental Genetic Model for the Origin of theFlower.9. Flower colour (Yoshikazu Tanaka, Institute for AdvancedTechnology, Suntory Ltd. Osaka, Japan, and Filippa BruglieraFlorigene Ltd., 16 Gipps Street, Collingwood, Victoria 3066Australia).10. Floral Scent: biosynthesis, regulation, and geneticmodifications (Jennifer Schnepp and Natalia Dudareva, Department ofHorticulture and Landscape Architecture, West Lafayette, IndianaUSA).Part IV. Senescence.11. Flower senescence: fundamental and applied aspects (AnthonyD. Stead, Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway (University ofLondon), Egham, Surrey, UK; Wouter G. van Doorn, WageningenUniversity and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands; M. L.Jones, Floriculture/ Molecular Biology, Horticulture and CropScience Department, The Ohio State University, Wooster, Ohio, USA;and C. Wagstaff, School of Biological Sciences, University ofSouthampton, Southampton, UK)..References.Index.