Developmental Genetics and Plant Evolution

564pp  ISBN 0415257913      £45.00

• Integrates the field of plant developmental genetics with the fields of evolutionary morphogenetics and systematics
• Synthesizes for the first time the rapidly growing new discipline of plant evolutionary-developmental genetics ("evo-devo")
• Provides lucid explanations that make a demanding subject accessible to both students and professional researchers
• Addresses some of evolutionary biology's most enduring and challenging questions using innovative new techniques and genuinely integrative concepts

A benchmark text, Developmental Genetics and Plant Evolution integrates the recent revolution in the molecular-developmental genetics of plants with mainstream evolutionary thought. It reflects the increasing cooperation between strongly genomics-influenced researchers, with their strong grasp of technology, and evolutionary morphogenetists and systematists who are more deeply rooted in comparative biology and patterns of plant evolution.

The book discusses our increasing understanding of gene function and expression, along with modern phylogenies. It integrates morphological and molecular data to highlight specific key transitions in plant evolution that warrant additional intensive study. Furthermore, it explores increasing knowledge of the physical expression of plant development from disciplines such as anatomy and paleobotany. Rather than focus on the technical aspects of plant genomics, this book provides genuinely integrated explanations of plant evolution.

The distinguished panel of contributors has succeeded in capturing a demanding subject in an accessible volume for a wide range of professional botanists and students in developmental biology, applied molecular biology, molecular evolution, morphogenesis, organismal botany, and theoretical systematics.

Contents

• Perspectives and Paradigms in Plant Evo-Devo
• Impact of Transposons on Plant Genomes
• Evolutionary Developmental Biology: Impact on Systematic Theory and Practice, and the Contribution of Systematics
• Transference of Function, Heterotopy and The Evolution of Plant Development
• Are Macroevolution and Microevolution Qualitatively Different? Evidence from Poaceae and Other Families
• The Mostly Male Theory of Flower Origins: Summary and Update Regarding the Jurassic Pteridosperm Pteroma
• Generating and Filtering Major Phenotypic Novelties: NeoGoldschmidtian Saltation Revisited
• Evolution of Adaptive Petal Cell Morphology
• How the Land Plants Learned their Floral ABCs: The Role of MADS-box Genes in the Evolutionary Origin of Flowers
• Orchid Flowers: Evolution and Molecular Development
• Involvement of Non-ABC MADS-box Genes in Determining Stamen and Carpel Identity in Gerbera hybrida (Asteraceae)
• Making Rays in the Asteraceae: Genetics and Ecolution of Radiate Versus Discoid Flower Heads
• Role of TCP Genes in the Evolution of Morphological Characters in Angiosperms
• Floral Diversity and Evolution in the Solanaceae
• Integrating Phylogeny, Developmental Morphology and Genetics: A Case Study of Inflorescence Evolution in the 'Bristle Grass' Clade (Panicoideae: Poaceae)
• Identification of Genes Involved in Evolutionary Diversification of Leaf Morphology
• Evolution of Vascular Plant Body Plans: A Phylogenetic Perspective
• The Telome Theory
• A Developmental Perspective on the Evolution of Leaves
• An Overview of Seed Plant Leaf Evolution
• Comparative Developmental and Molecular Genetic Aspects of Leaf Dissection
• Developmental Signals Regulating Leaf Form
• Evolutionary History of the Monocot Leaf
• Diatoms: The Evolution of Morphogenetic Complexity in Single-Celled Plants
• Identifying the Genetic Causes of Phenotypic Evolution: A Review of Experimental Strategies