Inducible Gene Expression in Plants.

P. H. S. Reynolds (ed.). CAB International, Wallingford. 1999. Pp. 247. Price £45.00, hardback. ISBN 0 85199 259 5.

This multi-author volume provides a concise and timely summary of current understanding of transcriptional regulation of gene expression in plants. Following an introductory chapter by the editor, the first four chapters concentrate on the use of promoter/trans-acting factor systems derived from bacteria, insects, mammals and yeast to regulate gene expression in plants. The principles underlying these systems are explained with text-book clarity and some elegant work on their use to investigate fundamental questions in plant biology is described. A repeating motif from these chapters is that, although these systems are powerful tools in the box of technologies now available to the research biologist, their applications in the field are limited.

The book moves on to look at transcriptional regulation of gene expression in response to the environmental stimuli, nitrate, heat shock and wounding. The recurring theme of these chapters is the complexity of interactions between environmental stimuli and the influence of developmental status and cell specificity on gene induction. The chapter on wound-inducible genes provides a useful reference table of wound-responsive genes and summarizes current understanding of the role of signalling compounds such as methyl jasmonate and ethylene in the wound response.

The last three chapters of the volume concentrate on transcriptional regulation by plant hormones. This section starts with a description of developmental targeting of an Agrobacterium-derived cytokinin biosynthetic gene, IPT, under the control of a senescence-responsive promoter, creating an auto-regulatory loop to retard senescence. This is followed by a detailed analysis of current understanding of cis-acting elements involved in abscisic acid- and auxin-responsive gene expression.

Overall, Inducible Gene Expression in Plants provides a useful reference book for the researcher wishing to exploit transcriptional mechanisms to regulate gene expression in plants and draws attention to the complexity of plant gene regulation. Throughout the book the potential applications of the fundamental studies which are described are emphasized. However it would have been useful if the introductory chapter could have placed transcriptional regulation within the context of other mechanisms such as post-transcriptional and post-translational systems that plants employ to control gene expression.