A Genetic Approach to Plant Biochemistry

1 Gibberellin Mutants.- I. Introduction.- II. Selection and Identification of Mutants.- III. GA Synthesis.- IV. Internode Length.- A. Synthesis Mutants.- B. Insensitive Mutants.- V. Seed Dormancy.- VI. Flowering and Senescence.- VII. Site of Action of GA Mutants.- VIII. Conclusions.- IX. References.- 2 Genetic Aspects of Abscisic Acid.- I. Introduction.- A. Abscisic Acid as a Plant Hormone.- B. Biosynthesis and Metabolism of ABA.- C. Genetic Aspects of ABA.- II. ABA-Deficient Mutants.- A. Isolation, Genetic and General Phenotypic Characteristics.- B. Pleiotropic Effects of ABA-Deficient Mutants.- C. Biochemistry of ABA-Deficient Mutants.- D. The Use of ABA Mutants in Water Relations Research.- E. The Use of ABA Mutants in Seed Physiology.- F. ABA Deficiency in Relation to Other Physiological Effects.- III. Mutants Affecting ABA Sensitivity.- IV. Genetic Differences in ABA Accumulation.- V. Conclusions.- VI. References.- 3 Mutants as Tools for the Elucidation of Photosynthetic Processes.- I. Introduction.- II. Two Genomes Code for the Structural and Regulatory Elements of the Photosynthetic Apparatus.- III. Identification of Thylakoid Membrane Proteins and Their Functions.- IV. From Phenotype to Gene Structure.- A. Herbicide Resistance.- B. Barley.- C. Chlamydomonas.- D. Arabidopsis.- E. Oenothera.- F. Summary.- V. Conclusions.- VI. References.- 4 Maize Alcohol Dehydrogenase: A Molecular Perspective.- I. Introduction.- II. Genetics and Expression of ADH Enzymes in Maize.- A. Two Genes Encode ADH in Maize.- B. Organ Specificities of ADH 1 and ADH2 Activities.- C. Mutations of Adh Genes of Maize.- D. The Maize Anaerobic Response.- III. Isolation of Adh Genes.- A. cDNAs from Anaerobically Induced Maize Genes.- B. Isolation and Identification of Adh1 cDNA Clones.- C. Isolation and Identification of Adh2 cDNA Clones.- D. Isolation of Adh Genes from Other Plant Species.- IV. Structure of Plant Adh Genes.- V. Three-Dimensional Structure of ADH Enzymes.- VI. Genetic Change Around and Within Adh Genes of Maize.- A. Allelic Variation.- B. Somaclonal Variation.- C. Gene Duplication.- D. Ds Element Mutations in Adh1.- E. Robertson's Mutator.- VII. Approaches to the Mechanism of Adh Gene Regulation.- A. DNA Sequence Comparisons.- B. Mutations in Adh Which Affect Expression.- VIII. In Vivo Expression of Adh.- A. Attempts at Expression in Cereal Tissue Culture Cells.- B. Testing Maize Adh Gene Activity in Dicotyledonous Plant Cells.- C. Expression of Maize Adh in Animal Cells.- IX. Conclusions.- X. References.- 5 The Molecular Genetics of Higher Plant Nitrate Assimilation.- I. Introduction.- II. The Nitrate Assimilation Pathway.- A. Nitrate Uptake.- B. Nitrate Reductase.- C. Nitrite Reductase.- III. Genetics of Nitrate Assimilation.- A. Introduction.- B. Nitrate Uptake Mutations.- C. Nitrate Reductase Mutations.- D. Nitrite Reductase Mutations.- E. Regulatory Alterations in Nitrate Assimilation.- F. Conclusions.- IV. Applied Aspects.- A. Somatic Hybridisation.- B. Cloning Nitrate Assimilation Genes.- C. Plant Gene Transfer Systems.- D. Whole Plant Studies.- V. References.- 6 Plant Genetic Approaches to Symbiotic Nodulation and Nitrogen Fixation in Legumes.- I. Introduction.- II. A General Description of Legume Nodule Ontogeny.- III. The Parasponia-Bradyrhizobium Symbiosis.- IV. Biochemical and Molecular Analysis of Plant Functions.- V. Gene-for-Gene Aspects of Nodulation.- VI. Existing Plant Variation in Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation.- VII Existing Single Locus Variation for Nodulation-Nitrogen Fixation.- VIII. Induced Mutation in Symbiotic Characters.- A. Pea and Chickpea Mutants.- B. Soybean Nodulation Mutants.- IX. Conclusions.- X. References.- 7 Endosperm Proteins.- I. Introduction.- II. Origin and Development of the Endosperm.- III. Classification of the Major Endosperm Proteins.- IV. Biochemical Complexity and Genetic Variation of Endosperm Proteins.- V. Gene Mutations.- A. Role in Plant Breeding.- B. Role in Genetics.- C. Role in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.- D. Role in the Food Industry.- VI. Chromosome Mutations.- VII. Conclusions.- VIII. References.- 8 Molecular Approaches to Plant and Pathogen Genes.- I. Introduction.- II. A Molecular Approach to Gene-for-Gene Resistance.- A. The Shotgun Method.- B. Transposon Mutagenesis or Gene Tagging.- III. The Role of Toxins in Plant Disease.- IV. Conclusions.- V. References.- 9 Gametophytic Gene Expression.- I. Introduction.- II. Overlap Between Sporophytic and Gametophytic Genotypes.- III. Gametophytic Gene Expression and the Angiosperms.- IV. The Influence of Haploid Genotype on Pollen Size.- V. Time of Gene Expression in Pollen.- VI. Methods of Haploid Selection.- VII. Gametophytic Gene Expression and the Style.- VIII. Gene Expression in the Megagametophyte.- IX. Conclusions.- X. References.- 10 Auxotroph Isolation In Vitro.- I. Introduction.- A. Some Preliminary Comments.- B. Why Auxotrophs?.- C. The Characteristics, Advantages and Disadvantages of In vitro Systems for Mutant Isolation.- D. Species Suitable for Auxotroph Isolation.- II. Mutagenesis.- III. Methods of Selection.- A. Conditions and Media.- B. Positive Selection.- C. Negative Selection.- IV. Phenotypes.- A. Amino-Acid, Vitamin and Purine Auxotrophs.- B. Nitrate Reductase Mutants.- C. Temperature-Sensitive Mutations.- V. Fusion and Transformation.- VI. Conclusions and Future Prospects.- VII. References.