Gases in Plant and Microbial Cells: 9 (Molecular Methods of Plant Analysis) - Hardcover

Modern Methods of Plant Analysis When the handbook Modern Methods of Plant Analysis was first introduced in 1954 the considerations were: 1. the dependence of scientific progress in biology on the improvement of existing and the introduction of new methods; 2. the difficulty in finding many new analytical methods in specialized journals which are normally not accessible to experimental plant biologists; 3. the fact that in the methods sections of papers the description of methods is frequently so compact, or even sometimes so incomplete that it is difficult to reproduce experiments. These considerations still stand today. The series was highly successful, seven volumes appearing between 1956 and 1964. Since there is still today a demand for the old series, the publisher has decided to resume publication of Modern Methods of Plant Analysis. It is hoped that the New Series will be just as acceptable to those working in plant sciences and related fields as the early volumes undoubtedly were. It is difficult to single out the major reasons for success of any publication, but we believe that the methods published in the first series were up-to-date at the time and presented in a way that made description, as applied to plant material, complete in itself with little need to consult other publications. Contributing authors have attempted to follow these guidelines in this New Series of volumes.

This is the first authoritative compilation of methods for the analysis of a comprehensive range of gases interacting with plant cells. Particularly treated are gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, nitrogen dioxide, water vapor, methane, ethylene, and other gases of fruits and vegetables. This interaction is of utmost importance because gases of the atmosphere and plant life are closely linked. Carbon dioxid - consumed by photosynthesis - is a very important component of the atmosphere in terms of climate. Plants also heavily influence the atmosphere, e.g., nitrogen fixation by symbiotic bacteria is responsible for 90% of the nitrogen turn over in the biosphere. Further, ozone is also known to cause reductions in crop yield and it seems that formation of ethylene in plants due to stress determines plant sensitivity to ozone. In addition, the known existence of gaseous growth hormones has changed man's understanding of fruit ripening. A consideration of ethylene analysis and ethylene effects therefore occupies an important place in this volume.