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In 1958, a single volume in the original series of this Encyclopedia adequately summarized the state of knowledge about plant carbohydrates. Expansion into two volumes in the New Series highlights the explosive increase in information and the heightened interest that attended this class of compounds in the interven ing years. Even now the search has just begun. Much remains to be accom plished; e.g., a full description of the plant cell wall in chemical terms. Why this growing fascination with plant carbohydrates? Clearly, much credit goes to those who pioneered the complex chemistry of polyhydroxylated compounds and to those who later sorted out the biochemical features of these molecules. But there is a second aspect, the role of carbohydrates in such biological func tions as host-parasite and pollen-pistil interactions, the mating reaction in fungi, symbiosis, and secretion to name a few. Here is ample reason for anyone concerned with the plant sciences to turn aside for a moment and consider how carbohydrates, so many years neglected in favor of the study of proteins and nucleic acids, contribute to the physiological processes of growth and devel opment in plants.
List of contents
I. Cell Walls of Higher Plants.- 1 Constitution of Plant Cell Wall Polysaccharides.- 2 Ultrastructure of the Plant Cell Wall: Biophysical Viewpoint.- 3 The Assembly of Polysaccharide Fibrils.- 4 Ultrastructure of the Plant Cell Wall: Biochemical Viewpoint.- 5 Biosynthesis and Metabolism of Cellulose and Noncellulosic Cell Wall Glucans.- 6 Metabolism of Noncellulosic Polysaccharides.- 7 Glycoproteins and Enzymes of the Cell Wall.- 8 The Role of Lipid-Linked Saccharides in the Biosynthesis of Complex Carbohydrates.- 9 Biosynthesis of Lignin.- 10 Hydrophobic Layers Attached to Cell Walls. Cutin, Suberin and Associated Waxes.- 11 Wall Extensibility: Hormones and Wall Extension.- II. Cell Walls of Algae and Fungi.- 12 Algal Walls - Composition and Biosynthesis.- 13 Algal Walls - Cytology of Formation.- 14 Algal Wall-Degrading Enzymes - Autolysines.- 15 Fungal Cell Walls: A Survey.- 16 Chitin: Structure, Metabolism, and Regulation of Biosynthesis.- 17 Fungal Glucans - Structure and Metabolism.- 18 Mannoproteins: Structure.- 19 Biosynthesis of Mannoproteins in Fungi.- III. Export of Carbohydrate Material.- 20 Secretory Processes - General Considerations and Secretion in Fungi.- 21 Secretion of Cell Wall Material in Higher Plants.- 22 Secretory Activity of the Root Cap.- IV. Cell Surface Phenomena.- 23 Defined Components Involved in Pollination.- 24 Carbohydrates in Plant - Pathogen Interactions.- V. Lectin - Carbohydrate Interaction.- 25 Lectins and Their Physiological Role in Slime Molds and in Higher Plants.- 26 The Role of Lectins in Symbiotic Plant - Microbe Interactions.- Author Index.
