Summarizing research progress achieved in 32 areas of cell biology covered in this series, this volume places special emphasis on the following topics: recognition in parasitic and symbiotic systems - the molecular biology and genetics of susceptibility and resistance of plants and animals to pathogens, parasites and symbionts - the cell to cell recognition and differentiation - the most challenging problems in developmental biology of plants and animals - the plasticity in cell to cell communication which plays a major role in cell differentiation and function.

Inhalt

Recognition in Parasitic and Symbiontic Systems.- Phytotoxins and Plant Pathogenesis.- Genetics.- - Toxins in relation to plant resistance; evolution of pathogens.- - Structure and mode of action.- - Applications.- Conclusions.- Recent Advances in Plant-Microbe Interactions.- Interactions between plants and microbes: Background information.- Signals in the interaction of Rhizobium and leguminous plants.- - Chemotaxis.- - Attachment.- - Activation of nodulation genes.- - Inhibition of nod gene activation.- - nod gene products.- - Infection thread formation.- - Release of bacteria from the infection thread.- - Bacteroid development.- - Effective nitrogen fixation.- - Induction of nodulins.- Plant Pathogens.- Plant defence mechanisms.- Hypersensitive reaction (HR).- Elicitors of plant responses.- Elicitor signal perception and transduction to plant gene response.- Concluding Remarks.- Signalling Between Plants and Viruses.- Virus host range and transmission.- - Host range.- - Transmission.- Infection, Replication and spread.- - Initiation of infection.- - Replication of the viral genome.- - Virus movement.- Pathogenesis and symptom formation.- - Control of plant growth.- - Formation of symptoms.- Resistance of virulence.- Exploiting mis-signalling in crop protection.- Recognition and Cell Signals in Mutualistic Symbioses.- Mutualistic symbiosis: Basic biology and conceptual framework.- Functional morphology of cell-cell interactions in mutualistic symbiosis.- - Absence of cytopathological symptoms.- - Presence of complex interfaces.- Stimuli, cues and signals in symbiotic cell to cell interactions.- Conclusions.- Cell to Cell Recognition and Differentiation.- Parallels in Cell to Cell Communication in Plants and Animals.- Cell interactions in plant tissues.- - Structure of plasmodesmata.- - Plasmodesmatal formation.- - Plasmodesmatal distribution and frequency.- - Plasmodesmata in development.- - Biophysical investigations on plasmodesmata.- - Molecular size exclusion limits.- - Regulation of plasmodesmatal permeability.- - Plasmodesmatal-virus interactions.- Cell interactions in animal tissues.- - Structure of gap junctions.- - Control of junctional communication.- - Gap junctions and cellular differentiation.- Conclusions.- Mechanism of Fertilization: Plants to Humans.- Introductory Remarks.- Surface Receptors and Sperm-egg interaction.- - Plants.- - Invertebrates.- - Mammals.- Mechanism of egg activation.- - Electrical Events.- - Soluble sperm factors vs receptors and G-proteins.- - When does sperm-egg fusion occur?.- - Polyspermy prevention.- Cytoplasmic segregation in the zygote.- - The role of intracellular Ca.- Signals for Cell Separation in Plants Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.- Detection and Coding of Chemical Signals: A Comparison Between Artificial and Biological Systems.- Olfactory receptor neuroses.- Chemosensitive sensor elements.- - Chemometric thermal sensors.- - Chemoelectronic sensors.- - Chemosensitive mass sensor.- - Other types of chemical sensors (including optical).- - Comparison between artificial and biological sensing elements.- Sensor signal processing I: Olfactory Bulb.- Processing of sensor signals II:.- - Pattern recognition and artificial networks.- - Classification by parametric techniques.- - Classification by non-parametric techniques.- - Artificial neural networks.- Molecular and Cellular Aspects of Erythropoietin and Erythropoiesis - From 1986 to.- Keywords.- Erythropoietic organization.- The biochemistry and molecular biology of erythropoietin.- Erythropoietin as atherapeutic agent.- Erythropoietin assay.- The erythropoietin receptor.- Competition for stem cell receptors and commitment to a cell lineage.- The site of action of erythropoietin.- The site of erythropoietin production.- - The renal source.- - The extrarenal source.- Oxygen sensing and erythropoietin production.- Questions for the future.- Cellular and Molecular Basis of Synaptic Transmission.- Evolution of nervous systems and of neuronal signalling.- - The most sophisticated form of chemical signalling.- - Diversity and consensus.- Structural basis of synaptic transmission.- - Variations of a theme.- - Still many unknowns.- Storage organelles for neurotransmitters and neurohormones.- - Life cycle: from where the vesicle comes and where it goes.- - Two or more types of vesicles and the consequences.- - Biochemical properties: diversity and homology.- - Primary structures and the search for a function.- The concept of cotransmission.- - The neuron speaks with many tongues.- - How can it all be understood?.- - Differential elimination of the chemical signal.- Presynaptic ion channels.- - Neuronal versus presynaptic channels.- - Multiplicity of types and functions.- - A superfamily, which one was the first?.- Mechanism of transmitter release.- - Long debated, the cellular source of transmitter release.- - Structural and physiological diversity of the releasing axon segment.- - The big challenge, the molecular cascade underlying exocytosis.- - Modulatory mechanisms become overwhelming.- Neurotransmitter receptors.- - It all falls into shape.- - Ligand gating, fast and successful.- - A family of channels meets a family of G protein.- - More receptors - more principal receptor types?.- - The hen or the egg?.- Cellular and Molecular Biology of Myelination.- Steps in glial cell differentiation and myelinogenesis.- Signal transduction and regulatory events in myelin-forming cells.- Demyelination, remyelination and glial cell transplantation.- Transfected cells as a tool in myelin research.- Phylogenetic aspects of myelination.- Components and structures of myelin.- Molecular biology of genes coding for myelin proteins.- Plasticity in Cell to Cell Communication.- Exploring Natures Roulette Wheel: Chaos in Biological Systems.- Biochemical systems and models.- Cellular systems and models.- Cellular networks.- Population dynamics.- Detecting and quantifying chaos.- Towards spatio-temporal irregularity and patterning.- Phytochrome Properties and Biological Action.- - Aims of this chapter.- - Photomorphogenesis.- - Phytochrome.- Phytochrome characterisation.- - Phytochrome genes.- - Properties of the Protein.- - Types of phytochrome.- - Phytochrome synthesis and destruction.- - Chromophore biosynthesis and holoprotein assembly.- Signal Transduction.- - Differences between Pr and Pfr.- - Phytochrome and membranes.- - Phytochrome as an enzyme.- Phytochrome and gene expression.- - Phytochrome autoregulation.- - Other photoregulated genes.- Genetic approaches to phytochrome action.- - Photoreceptor mutants.- - Transgenic plants.- Conclusions.- Modulation of Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity in Nervous Systems.- Gangliosides and Modulation of Neuronal Functions.- Results.- Fundamentals for research on the function of gangliosides.- Brain gangliosides.- - Pathways for de novo biosynthesis of gangliosides.- - Neuronal transport of gangliosides.- - Pathway of ganglioside degradation.- Cell specific distribution and differentiation-related expression of brain.- - Phytogenetic aspects.- - Ontogenetic aspects.- - Neurological abnormalities of brain gangliosides.- - Monoclonal antibodies against gangliosides.- Gangliosides and neuronal plasticity.- Biomedical potential of exogenous ganglioside application on neuronal function.- - Animal studies with exogenous ganglioside applicat…