Annual Plant Reviews, Plant Mitochondria

Book excerpt: Mitochondria are critical organelles in the metabolic regulation ofalmost all eukaryotic organisms. Knowledge of their biochemistryand molecular biology in plants has been fuelled over recent yearsby the rapid progress made in genome sequencing and the ability tomanipulate gene expression. Plant Mitochondria contains chapters written by many ofthe world’s leading researchers in this area, bringingtogether and reviewing for the first time many recent advances.Contents include coverage of mitochondrial dynamics, mitochondrialgenome instability, expression of the plant mitochondrial genome,import of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins, mitochondrialrespiratory complex biogenesis, supramolecular structure of theOXPHOS system, mitochondrial electron transport and oxidativestress, mitochondrial metabolism, cytoplasmic male sterilities andmitochondrial gene mutations, and the mitochondrion in plantprogrammed cell death. Plant Mitochondria is an extremely important and timelyaddition to Blackwell Publishing’s Annual Plant Reviewsseries. David Logan, well known and respected internationally forhis work in this area, has brought together a truly valuable volumeof great use and interest to plant scientists, cell and molecularbiologists, and biochemists. Libraries in all universities andresearch establishments where biological sciences are studied andtaught should have copies of this important book on theirshelves.