It is apparent that wilt diseases continue to be a major problem in crop production because of the number of crops affected, the number and genetic variability of pathogens involved, and their widespread occurrence throughout tropical and temperate regions under a variety of cropping systems. It is also apparent, however, that new understandings and approaches, often in combinations not previously discerned, offer exciting new prospects for research, understanding and practical control methods. The current state-of-the-art and fields for further studies were discussed by researchers actively...

Major progresses in the study of the cellular and molecular basis of synaptic transmission of nerve cells are highlighted. Each individual contribution gives an overview of the subject, presenting a description of the technical approach and considering future perspectives of the developments in the field. Topics range from historical aspects of the development of biochemical studies on synaptic transmission to the most advanced techniques applicable in morphological and functional studies of the nerve terminal. Studies on synaptic vesicles, the regulation of presynaptic transmitter synthesis,...

The picture on the following page is being reproduced here, at the request of the partici pants in the Advanced Research Workshop "Amino Acid Availability and Brain Function in Health and Disease." I displayed this limewood carving, entitled "Neurochemistry," during my closing remarks to this extraordinarily stimulating and productive workshop so ably organized by my collaborator Dr. Gerald Huether. We scientists need two sturdy legs to carry us through all the twists and turns of our academic careers. We should also have, as it were, a reserve leg handy, to help us stay upright when this...

This book provides a coherent overview of the various aspects of membrane biogenesis, considering the major constituents - phospholipids and glycoproteins - in a balanced way. New perspectives in the dynamics of the assembly of biomembranes are discussed and followed by detailed contributions on methodological approaches. Also included are short reviews on protein translocation and sorting across different membranes.

The relatively simple, stratified nature of the retina and its spe- fied use in the visual process has long made it an inviting tissue to study both for its own sake and as a model for the more complex processes of the brain. For these dual purposes, the retina can be thought of as basically consisting of two functional pans. First, the outer retina, comprised of the photoreceptor cells and attendant pigment epithelium, serves to capture the photic energy and convert it into a neurochemical response. Second, the inner layers of the retina, mainly bipolar, amacrine and ganglion cells (and...

Different molecular mechanisms cooperate to the regulation hormones, local metabolic of brain microcirculation: products, transmitterso Great interest has recently emerged in literature on the neuronal systems controlling the blood brain barrier and on the reciprocal interaction between neuronal activity and vascular supply. In particular, this volume on the NATO Advanced Research Workshop held in Salo' (BS), Italy, September 3-8, 1988, outlines the importance of neuron-vessel communication in the regulation of cerebral microenvironment. The problem is approached from a multidisciplinary...

This workshop was the second of this series held on the island of santorini in the Cycladic Sea. The first one ("Mechanism of Action of the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor," NATO ASI Se ries H, vol. 10) took place in May 1986 and focused on what was at the time the best studied of all neuroreceptors. This second one, held only two years later, demonstrates the im mense progress achieved since then in the field of neurorecep tors and ion channels. Molecular cloning techniques have now made available the primary structures of a whole array of ion channel proteins, and this in turn has shed...

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Molecular Signals in Microbe-Plant Symbiotic and Pathogenic Systems, held at Biddinghuizen, The Netherlands, May 21-26, 1989

This NATO Advanced Research Workshop held 25-30 September, 1988 at the Villa Gualino, Turin, Italy, was the first international meeting of its kind to be devoted solely to cell separation in plants. The partial or complete dissociation of one cell from another is an integral process of differentiation. Partial cell separations are basic physiological components of the overall programme of plant development. Complete cell separations are major events in the ripening of fruits, and the shedding of plant parts. Unscheduled cell separations commonly occur when tissues are subjected to pathogenic...

Mechanisms of resistance to plant viruses are diverse, and probably involve different types of recognition events. Often, a cascade of changes affecting broader aspects of defence and metabolism is switched on progressively after the initial recognition event. Virulence, i.e. resistence-breaking behaviour of the virus, involves a failure or alteration of recognition or subsequent signalling. Consequences of these recognition events are the ways in which the pathogenic effects on the host are exerted: formation of visible symptoms and control of plant growth. This volume offers a comprehensive...