This book - the first published on this topic in plants - presents the reader with an overview of recent research on nitric oxide (NO) in plants, which, in view of its empirical interest and its growth regulatory potential, is in the forefront of scientific endeavor in plant science. Subject matter is divided into two parts: Part 1 deals with NO and peroxynitrite biochemistry and regulative mechanisms as presently known in the Plant Kingdom and outlines some of the problems still awaiting clarification. Emphasis is placed on ethylene emission regulation, postharvest control, plant phytopathology and environmental stress tolerance. A further topic is plant NO, like Viagra, related to cyclic nucleotide turnover. Part 2 deals with environmental aspects of NO as an atmospheric pollutant and discusses endogenous means which plants at times employ to cope with this particular type of stress, and how their coping mechanisms may be harnessed for purposes of depollution and augmentation of nitrogen fertilization. The text, accompanied by a wealth of illustrations and annotated references, is intended for lecturers, advanced students and research scientists at universities and research institutes dealing with plant sciences and agriculture, as well as for environmental researchers.

The plasma membrane is at once the window through which the cell senses the environment and the portal through which the environment influences the structure and activities of the cell. Its importance in cellular physiology can thus hardly be overestimated, since constant flow of materials between cell and environment is essential to the well-being of any biological system. The nature of the materials mov ing into the cell is also critical, since some substances are required for maintenance and growth, while others, because of their toxicity, must either be rigorously excluded or permitted to enter only after chemical alteration. Such alteration frequently permits the compounds to be sequestered in special cellular compartments having different types of membranes. This type of homogeneity, plus the fact that the wear and tear of transmembrane molecular traffic compels the system to be constantly monitored and repaired, means that the membrane system of any organism must be both structurally complex and dy namic. Membranes have been traditionally difficult to study because of their fragility and small diameter. In the last several decades, however, remarkable advances have been made because of techniques permit ting the bulk isolation of membranes from homogenized cells. From such isolated membranes have come detailed physical and chemical analyses that have given us a detailed working model of membrane. We now can make intelligent guesses about the structural and func tional interactions of membrane lipids, phospholipids, proteins, sterols and water.

The plasma membrane is at once the window through which the cell senses the environment and the portal through which the environment influences the structure and activities of the cell. Its importance in cellular physiology can thus hardly be overestimated, since constant flow of materials between cell and environment is essential to the well-being of any biological system. The nature of the materials mov ing into the cell is also critical, since some substances are required for maintenance and growth, while others, because of their toxicity, must either be rigorously excluded or permitted to enter only after chemical alteration. Such alteration frequently permits the compounds to be sequestered in special cellular compartments having different types of membranes. This type of homogeneity, plus the fact that the wear and tear of transmembrane molecular traffic compels the system to be constantly monitored and repaired, means that the membrane system of any organism must be both structurally complex and dy namic. Membranes have been traditionally difficult to study because of their fragility and small diameter. In the last several decades, however, remarkable advances have been made because of techniques permit ting the bulk isolation of membranes from homogenized cells. From such isolated membranes have come detailed physical and chemical analyses that have given us a detailed working model of membrane. We now can make intelligent guesses about the structural and func tional interactions of membrane lipids, phospholipids, proteins, sterols and water."

This book - the first published on this topic in plants - presents the reader with an overview of recent research on nitric oxide (NO) in plants, which, in view of its empirical interest and its growth regulatory potential, is in the forefront of scientific endeavor in plant science. Subject matter is divided into two parts: Part 1 deals with NO and peroxynitrite biochemistry and regulative mechanisms as presently known in the Plant Kingdom and outlines some of the problems still awaiting clarification. Emphasis is placed on ethylene emission regulation, postharvest control, plant phytopathology and environmental stress tolerance. A further topic is plant NO, like Viagra, related to cyclic nucleotide turnover. Part 2 deals with environmental aspects of NO as an atmospheric pollutant and discusses endogenous means which plants at times employ to cope with this particular type of stress, and how their coping mechanisms may be harnessed for purposes of depollution and augmentation of nitrogen fertilization. The text, accompanied by a wealth of illustrations and annotated references, is intended for lecturers, advanced students and research scientists at universities and research institutes dealing with plant sciences and agriculture, as well as for environmental researchers.