The maintenance of a stable acid-base status within biological tissue is a fundamental homeostatic process in all organisms, necessary to preserve the metabolic function of proteins and other macromolecules. The study of acid-base regulation has advanced enormously over recent decades due to the development of increasingly accurate and sensitive techniques for measuring acid-base variables. This volume brings together contributions from leading comparative physiologists working on factors affecting the acid-base status of the internal fluids of animals and plants. The result is a broad-ranging, authoritative and accessible review of this area, together with a critical look at techniques and tools.

From a human viewpoint, the cold waters of deep sea and polar marine regions present an inhospitable and harsh environment for life. The study of organisms which have exploited this seemingly hostile ecological niche has revealed intriguing physiological adaptations. This volume summarizes the information on the adaptations exhibited by representatives of the main groups of polar animals, including marine invertebrates, fish, mammals and birds, at scales ranging from the whole organism through to the underlying molecular adaptational mechanisms. Unique in its breadth of coverage, this volume will provide an important resource for all those concerned specifically with how animals have adapted to life in extreme conditions, as well as being of general interest to all marine biologists.

One of the predicted consequences of the depletion of stratospheric ozone is an increase in the amount of ultraviolet light reaching the surface of the earth, in particular UV-B (320–280nm). Although the real effects are as yet unknown, this change in radiation could have profound consequences for plant growth and productivity. The need for information concerning the relationship between plants and UV-B is therefore pressing. This volume brings together authoritative contributions from leading experts in UV-B/plant studies and is unique in considering interactions at various scales, ranging from the level of the cell through to the level of the community. Information concerning ozone depletion and physical aspects of UV-B radiation complements the biological information to provide a thorough and comprehensive review of the status of knowledge.

Global warming and climate change are growing environmental concerns which are much in the scientific, governmental and public eye. The potential impact on freshwater and marine fishes is immense, because most fish have no physiological ability to regulate their body temperature. This volume focuses on the effects of temperature at all levels of organization in fish, with particular emphasis on physiological function: cells, epithelia, organ systems, the whole organism, reproduction, behaviour, pollutant interactions, ecology and population dynamics, with each chapter written by experts in the field. Many chapters also speculate on the long-term physiological and ecological implications to fish of a 2-4°C global warming scenario. Researchers and graduate students in the areas of animal physiology and behaviour, environmental toxicology, population ecology and fisheries biology and management will find this volume of particular interest.

Environmental temperature varies in time and space on timescales ranging from a few hours to long-term climate change. Organisms are therefore continually challenged to regulate and maintain functional capacities as their thermal environment changes. This volume brings together many of the leading workers in thermal biology, with backgrounds spanning the disciplines of molecular biology, cell biology, physiology, zoology, ecology and evolutionary biology, to discuss the responses of a wide range of species to temperature change at all scales of organization, ranging through the molecular, cellular, organismal, population and ecosystem levels. The volume provides an important and comprehensive contribution to the study of temperature adaptation, which, given the concern about global climate change, will provide much to interest a wide range of biologists.

How do hormones and growth factors regulate animal growth in the developing embryo and after injury? What processes at the molecular level determine the growth patterns of different tissues? In this diverse synthesis of recent research the regulation of growth in response to environmental and genetic stimuli is discussed at the level of the animal, tissues and cells. Contrasts are drawn between regulation in foetal and adult tissues, and in different tissues such as the CNS, bone and muscle. Functional chapters focus on the molecular links between mechanical tension and muscle growth, for example, while other chapters review the roles of specific molecules such as growth hormone. This state-of-the-art review will be of significant interest to graduate students and research scientists in the fields of animal growth, endocrinology and cell biology.

The techniques of molecular biology offer a powerful means of investigating and controlling the genetic basis of mechanisms operating in living organisms. The development of these techniques in aquatic animals has now reached the stage where important questions relating to growth, development and adaptation to the environment can be addressed at the level of gene expression, and the introduction and expression of novel genes achieved. This volume presents some of the most exciting advances in this rapidly expanding area, with contributions on the evolution of adaptation to low temperature, adaptation to short-term fluctuations in temperature and salinity, gene expression during growth and development, myosin polymorphism and the generation of transgenic fish. As such, it will be of interest to all those working in the fields of marine and freshwater biology and also to those working in aquaculture.

When this book was first published in 1996, the pollution of the earth's freshwater habitats was, as it is now, a topic of major concern. This synthesis considers the effects of pollutants on aquatic animals via a series of research and review articles that present experimental evidence of sublethal and lethal effects of a range of toxicants at the physiological, cellular and subcellular levels, and that explore techniques for detection of pollution damage. Topics covered include routes of uptake of toxicants; the effect of acute and chronic exposure to toxic metal ions, particularly zinc, copper and aluminium, with emphasis on the mechanisms of toxicity and responses to chronic exposure to sublethal levels; the impact on fish biology of two chemicals of current concern, nitrites and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which may act as oestrogenic substances or potent mutagens; and in vitro studies of the mechanisms of toxicity at the cellular and subcellular level, including damage of DNA, using cultured fish cells.

For 150 years scientists at the Rothamsted Experimental Station have studied aspects of plant nitrogen nutrition and amino acid biosynthesis. This book is the result of a meeting held to mark this century and a half of work there. The papers look at the significant progress in understanding the biochemistry of amino acids recently achieved, in the light of this history of research. Leading researchers from around the world have contributed authoritative chapters on protein amino acids, non-protein amino acids, betaines, glutathione, polyamines and other secondary metabolites derived from amino acids. As well as being essential in some animals' nutrition, these compounds can have important roles in defending against herbivores, insects and disease. An understanding of these compounds can help in devising better crop protection and production methods.

Molecular biology techniques have considerably increased our understanding of mechanisms underlying the control of flower initiation, development, function and senescence, processes which can be critically important in managing the yield of agricultural crops. The book covers the molecular and genetic control of flower morphogenesis in particular species and discusses the role and regulation of gene expression in the development, together with action of the male and female gametes in plant reproduction. The considerable variation in longevity of flowers and pattern of senescence are reviewed. The importance of ethylene in the control mechanism is discussed using examples of both ethylene-sensitive and insensitive species. The book will be vital to those researching floral physiology, and a useful reference for undergraduates studying relevant botanical courses.

Although the effects of exercise and mechanical forces on musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems have been well documented, the actual mechanisms by which mechanical forces act at the cellular level are not well understood. At present, studies of the interaction of mechanical forces with cells encompass many different cell types in various tissues. This volume draws together these apparently disparate observations and makes comparisons between the nature of cellular responses in different tissues. Studies of cells derived from skeletal muscle, bone and cardiovascular tissue are considered to provide a comprehensive synthesis and review of recent work. The volume will be of interest to all those working in musculoskeletal and cardiovascular biology, as well as those taking courses in exercise and sport science, biomechanics and orthopaedics.

Post-translational modifications are now known to play a fundamental role in regulating the activity, location and function of a wide range of proteins. In plant cells work on different types of post-translational modifications has progressed largely along independent lines. This book brings research workers together to allow an exchange of ideas, and reflects a diversity of interest whilst also revealing common ground. An introductory chapter reviewing recent progress in the field is followed by reviews of protein phosphorylation in bacteria and animals which provide a useful perspective on this subject in plants. Consideration is then given to plant protein kinases and the processes they control. Acylation and glycosylation, and their functions in protein targeting and folding are reviewed, along with the roles of glycoproteins in plant development and of ubiquitination in plant senescence.

Photosynthetic plant cells are compartmentalized into subcellular organelles such as chloroplasts, mitochondria, peroxisomes, the cytosol and the vacuole. Although this compartmentation serves to isolate particular functions to particular subcellular locations, the successful metabolic activity of the cell is actually dependent on a controlled and coordinated interaction between these organelles. In this book, leading scientists have contributed reviews of current research on the interaction of organelles in processes such as C3, C4, C3-C4, and CAM photosynthesis, photorespiration, substrate and protein transport, respiration, lipid metabolism and organelle biogenesis. The result is a comprehensive volume which provides a rich source of reference and information for plant biochemists and their students.

Originally published in 1992, Perspectives in Plant Cell Recognition presents a review of advances in understanding the cellular, molecular and genetic mechanisms governing cell–cell interactions in plants. In the case of the interaction between different cells of the same plant, progress in the study of gametes and associated organs during sexual reproduction is examined. Progress in the study of associations between somatic cells crucial to coordinated tissue development are also reported. Interactions between plant cells and cells of other organisms are then represented by consideration of plant pathogenesis and examples of mutualistic symbiosis. In particular, the Rhizobium/legume symbiosis has been studied extensively and the genes controlling the specificity of the interaction and involved in creating a harmonious mutualism have been cloned and their products identified.

Plants are able to respond and adapt to changing environmental and endogenous signals by the induction of the synthesis of specific proteins, acting to modify cellular metabolism. Environmental signals include temperature, anaerobiosis and pathogen attack amongst others, whilst endogenous signals include changes in the level of plant growth regulators. In this 1992 text, leading researchers discuss the role that inducible proteins play in cellular metabolism, and the approaches being used to delineate the molecular events leading to their synthesis. Chapters discuss molecular approaches to the study of gene expression, the identification and characterisation of trans-acting transcription factors and attempts to dissect other parts of the signal transduction pathway by the search for pathway mutants. This review volume will be of great value and interest to final year undergraduates, graduate students and researchers in the fields of plant biochemistry and molecular biology.

Flowering and fruiting are key processes in the biology of higher plants, ensuring the transfer of genetic material from one generation to the next. In addition, as almost all of the world's agricultural and horticultural industries depend on the production of flowers, fruits and seeds, the study of the reproductive biology of cultivated plants is of fundamental importance to humankind. Surprisingly, therefore, this topic has received relatively little attention from environmental physiologists compared with studies on the growth and development of vegetative structures. This book, based on a meeting held by the Environmental Physiology Group of the Society of Experimental Biology, sets out to correct this deficiency. The topic is given a broad and comprehensive treatment, with chapters covering the onset of flowering through to the development and growth of fruits and seeds, and finally to ecological and evolutionary aspects of fruiting. This volume will therefore serve as a useful introduction to the various aspects of flowering and fruiting and will also provide a thorough general overview of the subject for students and researchers alike.

The cellular events underlying rapid cellular damage in different organs are potentially of great medical importance, for example muscular dystrophy, liver damage and the preservation of kidneys for transplantation. Many hypotheses exist for the biochemical pathways involved in these damage processes. The roles of calcium and active oxygen metabolites are of particular interest. There is considerable literature on both these triggering agents and good evidence for their involvement in the genesis of damage, although little agreement on their precise roles. This volume records the proceedings of a meeting held by the Society for Experimental Biology that attempted to determine whether there are common mechanisms of cellular damage and to explore the ways in which calcium and oxygen radicals may interact to generate damage. The questions addressed, in particular, are whether there are any common biochemical pathways, and the specific and possibly interacting roles of calcium and active oxygen metabolites.

A large part of the effort of the food industry is spent in attempting to understand the limitations of the type of food that animals can eat. An understanding of the factors that influence feeding behaviour can then be used to produce foodstuffs that are more attractive to the animal in question, whether it be man, cattle, dogs or cats. This book examines both the texture of food and the adaptations of various animals (including fish, mammals, primates and man) to the type of food they commonly eat. Zoologists, material scientists and food scientists have got together to present an integrated overview of feeding by vertebrates. The mechanical properties of various foods are considered in conjunction with the mechanics of eating them and more subjective behavioural parameters such as acceptability and palatability. The book consequently will be of interest to food scientists, zoologists and animal behaviouralists.

Advances in our understanding of biological mechanisms have frequently been associated with the development of techniques. In situ hybridisation is a classic case of just such an advance. The technique effectively combines histochemistry with molecular biology and enables the rapid analysis of the distribution of RNA, or DNA, in the tissues. The information gained from this has caused something of a revolution in our understanding of developmental biology, since a fundamental aspect of development is the spatial and temporal expression of genes. In addition the technique has found application in the field of medicine, providing insights into the functioning of healthy tissues and the diagnosis and study of diseases. This book brings together contributions from leaders in the application of in situ hybridisation and guides the would-be exponent through the various options and variations of the technique.

This volume provides a review of the most important areas of the biochemistry of herbicide action. The introductory chapter is a review of the field of herbicide discovery, and this is followed by chapters dealing with the herbicidal inhibition of photosynthesis, carotenoid biosynthesis, lipid biosynthesis, and amino acid biosynthesis. The metabolism of herbicides is discussed with particular reference to the formation of toxic components from non-toxic chemicals, and also the inactivation of toxic chemicals as a basis for selectivity. The final chapters are concerned with mechanisms of herbicide resistance in plants and the possibility of transferring resistance to susceptible crops. The book is completed with a glossary of the most important herbicidal chemicals mentioned in the text. The volume is suitable for senior undergraduates and graduates in agriculture, horticulture, applied biology and plant biochemistry and for M.Sc. students in crop protection; it will also appeal to industrial research scientists involved in herbicide development.