Udaya C. Biswal – författare

This work provides the complete story of chloroplast biogenesis, from proplastid to gerontoplast with mature chloroplast as the transient. Development of mature chloroplast from proplastid and subsequent transformation of the mature organelle to gerontoplast during senescence are critically reviewed in the background of regulatory events associated with them. The book is organized into five chapters including a chapter assigned to introduction, which briefly deals with the basic concept of plastid transformations during leaf development and senescence. Chapter 2 highlights pigment synthesis, assembly and regulation of various thylakoid complexes and Rubisco. Chapter 3 has been designed to provide an up to date account of structure and function of a mature chloroplast that covers molecular and crystallographic structures of photosynthetic complexes and their functions. The chapter also describes chloroplast metabolism, enzymology and regulation of CO2 fixation. Response of chloroplast to environmental stress is also included in this chapter. Formation of gerontoplast during leaf senescence, its regulation and molecular biology are described in chapter 4.This chapter makes the book very different from others published on chloroplast biogenesis. The book concludes by establishing a linkage between all the chapters and integrates the data on organelle development and senescence.

This is the first book that provides the complete story of chloroplast biogenesis, from proplastid to gerontoplast with mature chloroplast as the transient. Development of mature chloroplast from proplastid and subsequent transformation of the mature organelle to gerontoplast during senescence are critically reviewed in the background of regulatory events associated with them.

Chloroplast development is a key feature of leaf developmental program. Recent advances in plant biology reveal that chloroplasts also determine the development, the structure and the physiology of the entire plant. The books, published thus far, have emphasized the biogenesis of the organelle, but not the events associated with the transformation of the mature chloroplast to the gerontoplast during senescence. This book, with 28 chapters, is unique because it describes how the chloroplast  matures and how it is subsequently transformed to become the gerontoplast during senescence, a process required for nutrient recycling in plants. This book includes a state-of-the-art survey of the current knowledge on the regulation and the mechanisms of chloroplast development. Some of the chapters critically discuss the signaling process, the expression potential of plastid DNA, the interaction of cellular organelles, and the molecular mechanisms associated with the assembly and the disassembly of organellar complexes and finally the modulation of chloroplast development by environmental signals.