This book summarizes what is currently known about gravity sensing and response mechanisms in microorganisms, fungi, lower and higher plants; starting from the historical eye-opening experiments from the 19th century up to today's extremely rapid advancing cellular, molecular and biotechnological research. All forms of life are constantly exposed to gravity and it can be assumed that almost all organisms have developed sensors and respond in one way or the other to the unidirectional acceleration force,this books shows us some of these different ways. The book is written for plant biologists and microbiologists as well as scientists interested in space and gravitational biology.

Plants offer exciting opportunities to understand major biological questions, i.e. the regulation of development and morphogenesis. How are changes of the environment, developmental cues, and other signals perceived and transduced in physiological responses? What are the elements of plant signalling pathways and what is their organization? The panoply of molecular tools and techniques as well as the blossoming field of plant genetics are providing an exciting ground for major breakthroughs in unravelling the fundamental mechanisms of plant signalling. The present book establishes a state-of-the-art framework spanning the wide spectrum of perception, signal transduction events and transport processes, including cell proliferation and cell cycle regulation, embryogenesis, and flowering. Moreover, the volume emphasizes the role of the major plant signalling substances known to date (the phytohormones and more recently studied substances) and summarizes what we know on their molecular mechanisms of action. The book emphasizes how the use of molecular technology has made plant signalling processes accessible to experimental test.