Stress Responses of Photosynthetic Organisms

Book excerpt: Sixteen topics from the results of the research project "Molecular Mechanisms for Responses of the Photosynthetic Apparatus to the Environment," are documented in this excellent and timely work. Photosynthesis research has a long history in Japan, and many Japanese laboratories working in this field have been very active and productive. Based on the foundation established by these laboratories, the research reflected in this book focuses on elucidating the interactions between photosynthesis and the environment, with special emphasis on the molecular aspects of these interactions. The major purpose of the research was to identify specific genes required for (a) repair of the organisms from stress-induced damage to the photosynthetic machinery and (b) acclimation of photosynthetic processes to specific changes in environmental conditions. Once specific genes were identified, the effects of expression (and overexpression) of these genes in transgenic plants on acclimation processes were analyzed. Through the analysis of transgenic plants and cyanobacteria, the volume clarifies a number of molecular mechanisms by which plants acclimate to environmental variations, and the factors that govern recovery from stress-induced damage, especially with respect to the photosynthetic apparatus. A treatize on stress physiology and photosynthesis, the book also indicates the agricultural usefulness of transgenic plants and microalgae which are produced to study the molecular mechanisms of the tolerance of plants to changes in their environment.