Download or read book Biophysics of Photoreceptors and Photomovements in Microorganisms written by F. Lenci and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume contains the lectures given at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Biophysics of Photoreceptors and Photomovements in Microorganisms" held in Tir renia (Pisa), Italy, in September 1990. The Institute was sponsored and mainly funded by the Scientific Affairs Division of NATO; the Physical Science Committee and the Institute of Biophysics of National Research Council of Italy also supported the School and substantially contributed to its success. It is our pleasant duty to thank these institu tions. Scientists from very different backgrounds contributed to the understanding of this fast developing field of research, which has seen considerable progress during the last years. The areas of expertise ranged from behavioral sciences, supported by sophi sticated techniques such as image analysis or laser light scattering, to spectroscopy, ap plied, in different time domains, to the study of the primary photoreactions, to electro physiology, biochemistry or molecular biology, with the aim of analyzing the various steps of the transduction chains and how they control the motor apparatus of the cells. The organisms studied covered a wide range, from bacteria to algae, fungi and other eukaryotes. Thus, the ASI represented a successful opportunity for carrying on and imple menting an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the biophysical basis of photore ception and photosensory transduction in aneural organisms, with special attention to the basic phenomena and the underlying molecular events. We hope that this book has caught the spirit in which the ASI was conceived.
Download or read book Photomovement written by D.-P. Häder and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2001-06-19 with total page 959 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume emphasizes the involvement of all facets of biology in the analysis of environmentally controlled movement responses. This includes biophysics, biochemistry, molecular biology and as an integral part of any approach to a closer understanding, physiology. The initial euphoria about molecular biology as the final solution for any problem has dwindled and the field agrees now that only the combined efforts of all facets of biology will at some day answer the question posed more than hundred years ago: "How can plants see?". One conclusion can be drawn from the current knowledge as summarized in this volume. The answer will most likely not be the same for all systems.
Download or read book Biophysics Of Photoreception Molecular And Phototransductive Events written by Cloe Taddei-ferretti and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 1998-01-15 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first volume of new book series on biophysics and biocybernetics, initiated by the Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici.A main problem in biophysics is the interaction of light information with functional living structures, in order to shape the organism's behaviour. Although the processes of photoreception and phototransduction are articulated in various ways in different living beings — as it is seen in the subdivision of the topics in this volume on microorganisms, invertebrates, and vertebrates — general ways of light signal reception and transduction through light energy, i.e., photosensitive molecule interactions, could be observed. Highly sophisticated advanced techniques are employed in this research field.
Download or read book Advances in Microbial Ecology written by J.G. Jones and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-29 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the third volume of Advances in Microbial Ecology to be produced by the current editorial board. I would, therefore, like to take this opportunity to thank my co-editors for all their efforts, particularly in maintaining a balance of subject matter and geographical distribution of the contributions. Volume 15 is no exception in that we have a balance between the prokaryo tic and eukaryotic organisms and a range of subject matter from applied ecology through process ecology to ecological theory. The response from our readers has been encouraging in the sense that the breadth of coverage is much appreciated, particularly by teachers and postgraduate/postdoctoral researchers. However, we still strive to improve our coverage and particularly to move wider than the North America/Europe axis for contributions. Similarly, we would like to see coverage of the more unusual microbes, perhaps a chapter devoted to the ecology of a particular species or genus. There must exist many ecological notes on "rarer" organisms that have not found their way into the standard textbooks or taxonomic volumes; properly compiled these could provide valuable information for the field ecologist. Ecological theory has, until recently, been the domain of the "macroecolo gist. " Recent advances in molecular techniques will ensure that the microbial ecologist will playa more significant role in the development of the subject. We shall not, therefore, change our policy of encouraging our contributors to specu late, permitting them sufficient space to develop their ideas.
Download or read book Microbial Responses to Light and Time written by Society for General Microbiology. Symposium and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-05-07 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An up-to-date review of the importance of light as a biologically active environmental cue.
Download or read book Light as an Energy Source and Information Carrier in Plant Physiology written by Robert C. Jennings and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Light as Energy Source and Information Carrier in Plant Photo physiology" was held at Volterra, Italy, from September 26 to October 6, 1994, in order to consider the fundamental role that light plays in plant growth and development. This book summarises the main lectures given at this meeting which concentrated on both photochemical energy conversion and signalling (photosensing) aspects. Light harvesting and conversion into chemical energy in photosynthesis occurs at the level of chlorophyll/carotenoid containing photosystems in plants. Pigments are non covalently bound to a variety of polypeptides which serve as a specific scaffolding, necessary to determine the energy coupling between pigments and thus allowing rapid excitation energy trasfer from the antenna to the special reaction centre chlorophylls. Data from transient, time resolved spectroscopies, in the femtosecond and picosecond domain, together with model calculations, suggest that this process occurs in the 20-100 picosecond time span. The special ~ll u~ture of reaction centre complexes, ensures rapid primary charge separation, probably in the order of 1-3 picoseconds, with subsequent charge stabilisation reactions proceeding in the hundreds of picoseconds range. The recently resolved crystallographic structure of LHCII, the principal antenna complex of plants, allows precise determination of pigment-pigment distances and thus permits calculation of approximate chlorophyll-chlorophyll Forster hopping rates, which are in good agreement with time resolved measurements.
Download or read book Digital Image Analysis of Microbes written by M. H. F. Wilkinson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 1998-06-08 with total page 588 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Providing specific knowledge in the theory of image analysis, optics, fluorescence, and imaging devices in biomedical laboratories, this timely and indispensable volume focuses on the theory and applications of detection, morphometry, and motility measurement techniques applied to bacteria, fungi, yeasts and protozoa.
Download or read book Life Under the Sun written by Peter A. Ensminger and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Which fungus is as sensitive to light as the human eye? What are the myths and facts about the ozone hole, tanning, skin cancer, and sunscreens? What is the effect of light on butterfly copulation? This entertaining collection of essays explores how various organisms -- including archaebacteria, slime molds, fungi, plants, insects, and humans -- sense and respond to sunlight. The essays in Peter A. Ensminger's book cover vision, photosynthesis, and phototropism, as well as such unusual topics as the reason why light causes beer to develop a "skunky" odor. He introducec us to the kinds of eyes that have evolved in different animals, including those in a species of shrimp that is ostensibly eyeless; gives us a better appreciation of color vision; explains how plowing fields at night may be used to control weeds; and tells about variegate porphyria, a metabolic disease that makes people very sensitive to sunlight and may have afflicted King George III of England. These engaging essays present a complicated yet fascinating subject in an accessible way. The book will be treasured by anyone interested in the wonders of biology.
Download or read book Gravity and the Behavior of Unicellular Organisms written by Donat-Peter Häder and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-01-17 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unicellular organisms use gravity as an environmental guide to reach and stay in regions optimal for their growth and reproduction. These single cells play a significant role in food webs and these factors together make the effects of gravity on unicellular organisms a fascinating and important subject for scientific study. In addition, they present valuable model systems for studying the mechanisms of gravity perception, a topic of increasing interest in these days of experimentation in space. This book reveals how single cells achieve the same sensoric capacity as multicellular organisms like plants or animals. It reviews the field, discussing the historical background, ecological significance and related physiology of unicellular organisms, as well as various experimental techniques and models with which to study them. Those working on the biology of unicellular organisms, as well as in related areas of gravitational and space science will find this book of value.
Download or read book Photomorphogenesis in Plants and Bacteria written by Eberhard Schäfer and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-01-24 with total page 728 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plants as sessile organisms have evolved fascinating capacities to adapt to changes in their natural environment. Arguably, light is by far the most important and variable environmental factor. The quality, quantity, direction and duration of light is monitored by a series of photoreceptors covering spectral information from UVB to near infrared. The response of the plants to light is called photomorphogenesis and it is regulated by the concerted action of photoreceptors. The combined techniques of action spectroscopy and biochemistry allowed one of the important photoreceptors – phytochrome – to be identified in the middle of the last century. An enormous number of physiological studies published in the last century describe the properties of phytochrome and its function and also the physiology of blue and UV-B photoreceptors, unidentified at the time. This knowledge was summarized in the advanced textbook “Photomorphogenesis in Plants” (Kendrick and Kronenberg, eds., 1986, 1994). With the advent of molecular biology, genetics and new molecular, cellular techniques, our knowledge in the field of photomorphogenesis has dramatically increased over the last 15 years.
Download or read book Flagellates written by Barry S. C. Leadbeater and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2002-09-11 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Flagellates presents a multidisciplinary view of the flagellates exploring both their unity, in terms of their structure, mechanisms and processes, and their diversity in terms of biogeography, niche colonisation, and adaptations to their environment. In addition, evolutionary relationships amongst flagellates are explored. This is the only book published on this subject and features the most up to date information available making it an essential read for any one interested in or working in this field.
Download or read book Photomorphogenesis in Plants written by R.E. Kendrick and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 836 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is perhaps not surprising that plants have evolved a mechanism to sense the light environment about them and to modify growth for optimal use of the available `life-giving' light. Green plants, and ultimately all forms of life, depend on the energy of sunlight fixed during photosynthesis. Unlike animals that use behaviour to find food, sedentary plants use physiology to optimize their growth and development for light absorption. By appreciating the quality, quantity, direction and duration of light, plants can control such complex processes as germination, growth and flowering. To perceive the light environment several receptor pigments have evolved, including the red/far-red reversible phytochrome and the blue/UV-absorbing photoreceptors (Part 1). The quantification of light (Part 2) and importance of instrumentation for photomorphogenesis research are introduced in Part 3. Isolation and characterization of phytochrome is a classic example of how photobiological techniques can predict the nature of an unknown photoreceptor. Current knowledge of the phytochrome photoreceptor family is given in Part 4 and that of blue/UV receptors in Part 5. Part 6 deals with the coaction of photoreceptors. The light environment and its perception is addressed in Part 7. Molecular and genetic approaches and the photoregulation of gene expression compose Part 8. Part 9 contains further selected topics: photomodulation of growth phototropism, photobiology of stomatal movements, photomovement, photocontrol of flavonoid biosynthesis, photobiology of fungi and photobiology of ferns. The 28 chapters written by leading experts from Europe, Israel, Japan and the USA, provide an advanced treatise on the exciting and rapidly developing field of plant photomorphogenesis.
Download or read book Euglena Biochemistry Cell and Molecular Biology written by Steven D. Schwartzbach and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-04-19 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This much-needed book is the first definitive volume on Euglena in twenty-fire years, offering information on its atypical biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, and potential biotechnology applications. This volume gathers together contributions from well-known experts, who in many cases played major roles in elucidating the phenomenon discussed. Presented in three parts, the first section of this comprehensive book describes novel biochemical pathways which in some instances have an atypical subcellular localization. The second section details atypical cellular mechanisms of organelle protein import, organelle nuclear genome interdependence, gene regulation and expression that provides insights into the evolutionary origins of eukaryotic cells. The final section discusses how biotechnologists have capitalized on the novel cellular and biochemical features of Euglena to produce value added products. Euglena: Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology will provide essential reading for cell and molecular biologists with interests in evolution, novel biochemical pathways, organelle biogenesis and algal biotechnology. Readers will come away from this volume with a full understanding of the complexities of the Euglena as well as new realizations regarding the diversity of cellular processes yet to be discovered.
Download or read book The Chlamydomonas Sourcebook written by Susan Dutcher and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2023-02-15 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Chlamydomonas Sourcebook, 3rd Edition Cell Motility and Behavior (Volume 3) The gold-standard reference?introducing this multidisciplinary science,?fully revised and updated with the latest discoveries Originally published as the standalone Chlamydomonas Sourcebook, then expanded as the third volume in a three-part comprehensive gold-standard reference,?The Chlamydomonas Sourcebook: Cell Motility and Behavior has been fully revised and updated to include the wealth of new resources for the Chlamydomonas community. Reflecting the significant advancement in?the understanding of the role of basal bodies and cilia play in human diseases, this volume employs quantitative proteomics and mass spectroscopy as well as?cryo?EM tomography and single particle?cryo?EM. Other topics such as current insights?on?mitosis and cytokinesis, ciliary assembly and motility, intraflagellar?transport, and more help build an understanding of human diseases of the cilium. Cell Motility and Behavior presents the latest in research and best practices, making this a must-have resource for researchers and students working in plant science and photosynthesis, fertility, mammalian vision, and biochemistry; crop scientists; plant physiologists; and plant, molecular, and human disease biologists. Provides an essential reference to a model species for the study of mechanisms of motility in free living cells? Includes methods for Chlamydomonas motility research? Includes a table listing the known proteins (with NCBI accession numbers) for each structure discussed, and the known mutations that affect each structure and process
Download or read book Biocommunication of Ciliates written by Guenther Witzany and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-05-23 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first coherent description of all levels of communication of ciliates. Ciliates are highly sensitive organisms that actively compete for environmental resources. They assess their surroundings, estimate how much energy they need for particular goals, and then realise the optimum variant. They take measures to control certain environmental resources. They perceive themselves and can distinguish between ‘self’ and ‘non-self’. They process and evaluate information and then modify their behaviour accordingly. These highly diverse competences show us that this is possible owing to sign(aling)-mediated communication processes within ciliates (intra-organismic), between the same, related and different ciliate species (inter-organismic), and between ciliates and non-ciliate organisms (trans-organismic). This is crucial in coordinating growth and development, shape and dynamics. This book further serves as a learning tool for research aspects in biocommunication in ciliates. It will guide scientists in further investigations on ciliate behavior, how they mediate signaling processes between themselves and the environment.
Download or read book From Sensing to Sentience written by Todd E. Feinberg and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2024-10-01 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new theory of Neurobiological Emergentism that explains how sentience emerges from the brain. Sentience is the feeling aspect of consciousness. In From Sensing to Sentience, Todd Feinberg develops a new theory called Neurobiological Emergentism (NBE) that integrates biological, neurobiological, evolutionary, and philosophical perspectives to explain how sentience naturally emerges from the brain. Emergent properties are broadly defined as features of a complex system that are not present in the parts of a system when they are considered in isolation but may emerge as a system feature of those parts and their interactions. Tracing a journey of billions of years of evolution from life to the basic sensing capabilities of single-celled organisms up to the sentience of animals with advanced nervous systems, including all vertebrates (for instance, fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals), arthropods (insects and crabs), and cephalopods such as the octopus, Feinberg argues that sentience gradually but eventually emerged along diverse evolutionary lines with the evolution of sufficiently neurobiologically complex brains during the Cambrian period over 520 million years ago. Ultimately, Feinberg argues that viewing sentience as an emergent process can explain both its neurobiological basis as well its perplexing personal nature, thus solving the historical philosophical problem of the apparent “explanatory gap” between the brain and experience.
Download or read book Plant Molecular Biology 2 written by R.G. Herrmann and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 747 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The VI NATO Advanced Study Institute on Plant Molecular Biology, held in Elmau, Bavaria, Germany, from 14 to 23 May, 1990, brought together representative scientific leaders from all over the world to review their lastest results. They presented lectures or posters, participated in lively discussions, educated students, and exchanged views and plans for future research in this highly exciting field of science. The experiments, data and questions were naturally varied, but all of them illustrate that the modern techniques of molecular biology, complemented by developments in immunology, genetics, and ultrastructural research, have pervaded nearly every branch of biology. The presentations show that these approaches have tremendously increased our potential both for fundamental research, our understanding of life, and by analogy to the precedents of physics and chemistry, have led and will continue to lead to "engineering sciences" and implicitly, to new industrial processes. Some of these applications are a matter of debate in the public domain today and many feel that the development of industrial gene technology requires the attention of the whole scientific community. Nevertheless, the implications of this research for the genetic improvement of agricultural plants are profound. Some of the near term technologies being developed provide novel approaches for improving the utility of food crops. They can also result in reduced dependence on the use of pesticides for food production.
