Plant Science 154 (2000) 99
Book review
www.elsevier.com/locate/plantsci
Plasmodesmata: Structure, Function, Role in Cell Communication, Edited by A.J.E. van Bel and W.J.P. van Kesteren, Springer – Verlag, Berlin, 1999. ISBN 3-540-65169-1; Hardcover DM 349,00
In a complex multicellular organism such as a plant, there is extensive division of labor between different cell types and tissues. To coordinate this process, channels for intercellular communication must exist. Plasmodesmata are the membrane-lined pores within the cell wall which assure sym-plasmic connectivity between cells and plasmodesmata are now recognized as key regula-tory elements in the information pathway. The last book-length treatment of these important struc-tures was by Robards and Gunning in 1976 and the present volume, edited by van Bel and van Kesteren, is meant to bring the story up to date. The book consists of 17 chapters, all written by experts in the field. The range of topics covered is exhaustive, including plasmodesmal structure, morphology and nomenclature, the gating proper-ties of plasmodesmata, plasmodesmal evolution, and trafficking of viruses and proteins through plasmodesmata. The contributions are for the most part clearly written and there is a pleasing
uniformity in the use of abbreviations and termi-nology. The chapters also provide a extensive guide to the relevant literature, with more than 1500 cited references. Plasmodesmata are complex structures and, in spite of the considerable pro-gress made over the last 20 years, much remains to be learned about a number of basic questions. Controversy still swirls, for example, around issues related to plasmodesmal ultrastructure and mor-phogenesis, and the mechanisms of plasmodes-matal gating. One of this book’s merits is that the treatment of different points of view on these and other questions is, on the whole, evenhanded and an effort has been made to identify the limits of our present knowledge in a sober fashion. In sum, this volume will be an indispensable addition to the bookshelf of any worker who is newly inter-ested in plasmodesmata and will certainly contain much of value to the specialist reader as well.
16 December, 1999 Kenneth Richards
Institut de Biologie Moleculaire des Plantes,
12 Rue du General Zimmer,
67084 Strasbourg Cedex,
France
E-mail: [email protected]
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