Annals of Botany 92: 845-846, 2003
© 2003 Annals of Botany Company
Murata, N., Yamada, M., Nishida, I., Okuyama, H., Sekiya, J. and Hajime, W. (eds). Advanced research on plant lipids
Advanced Research on Plant Lipids.
Murata N, Yamada M, Nishida I, Okuyama H, Sekiya J and Hajime W., eds.
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
£90·00 (hardback). 439 pp.
This volume contains nearly 100 contributed articles from the 15th International Symposium on Plant Lipids, held in Okazaki, Japan in May of 2002, and as such reflects the diverse interests of plant lipidologists in the 21st century. These International Symposia are biennial events which serve as important forums for the exchange of ideas and the updating of current thinking in plant lipid biology research. The attendees of these meetings also have the opportunity to crystallize their thoughts on paper, and it is these short papers which form the vast bulk of these conference proceedings. The current (15th) volume is subdivided into a number of different, topic-based sections which serve as convenient pointers to the content of the papers (though this demarcation is fairly ad hoc) and the volume is prefaced with the now-traditional dedication to a senior colleague (here to Jean-Claude Kader, University of Paris-6).
When considering conference proceedings such as these, it is important to remember that the articles are ‘free communications’ and, as such, are not subject to the normal process of peer-review. However, this can actually serve as an advantage since contributors are able to reflect more preliminary (but still interesting) observations arising from their latest studies. Overall, the standard of articles is very high and the editors have clearly worked hard to ensure a uniform format for all the presentations.
The first chapter consists of a single article, based on the Terry Galliard Lecture. This was established in 1994 to commemorate the life and work of Terry Galliard, a much respected founding-father of modern plant lipid research. The 5th Terry Galliard Lecture was presented by Ernst Heinz (University of Hamburg) and the accompanying paper provides an excellent review on sterol and ceramide glucosides in plants, as well as providing a number of new insights into the potential role(s) of these complex lipids in plant biology. Reading this short but (as ever) informative chapter reminds one of the enormous contribution that Ernst Heinz has made to our understanding of lipid biology, and why it was wholly appropriate that he presented the Terry Galliard Lecture. In this post-genomic era the need for functional characterization of genes is greater than ever, and in terms of complex lipid biosynthesis this will invariably involve some equally complex biochemical analysis! The ability to combine molecular biology with definitive lipid analysis has been one of the hallmarks of Professor Heinz’s group for many years now and they continue to make major contributions to our understanding of plant lipid biology.
The other nine remaining chapters describe ‘Lipid Structure’, ‘Fatty Acid Biosynthesis’, ‘Fatty Acid Desat uration’, ‘Lipid Biosynthesis’, ‘Waxes, Sphingolipids and Isoprenoids’, ‘Lipases’, ‘Lipid Trafficking’, ‘Lipids and Function’ and, finally, ‘Biotechnology’. These chapters contain contributions by the symposium speakers as well as from poster presentations. Whilst it is unlikely that even the most dedicated or enthusiastic plant lipidologist will find all 99 articles of equal interest, the breadth of topics covered is considerable. It is also worth noting the contribution of James Ntambi (Madison), who attended the symposium as one (of two) non-plant ‘guest’ speakers. His studies have had a major impact on our understanding the regulation of the stearoyl-CoA desaturases (SCDs) in animal systems, and his article for this volume reports their more recent discovery of a variant form of SCD which has a preference for C16 substrates and a 
6-regiospecificity. This in turn may provide insights into the molecular determinants of substrate- and region-specificity in this important class of enzyme.
It would probably be unfair (if not impossible) to try and highlight further articles amongst the remaining 97, but it is suffice to say that useful and contemporary contributions are made by most of the groups currently working in the plant lipid field. Whilst every two years each new Symposium volume automatically outdates its predecessor, the current volume serves as a valuable reference source for those entering the plant lipid field. This is important because as more Arabidopsis mutants are characterized, some researchers discover (usually to their surprise) that they have become lipidologists! This can be exemplified by the discovery of the key role of sterols in Arabidopsis embryo development, with the characterization of the hydra1 and fackel/hydra2 mutants as defective in 8-7 sterol isomerase and sterol C14 reductase, respectively (Souter et al., 2002). Other examples are the emerging role of sphingolipids in signalling networks (Coursol et al., 2003), and lipid transfer proteins involved in systemic resistance to pathogen attack (Maldonado et al., 2002). It is for these reasons that I am happy to recommend this volume as a useful addition to any academic library. My only comment on the formatting of these symposia proceedings is that it would be useful to include a contact e-mail address for each contribution; this would really help stimulate new interactions and collaboration.
As someone who was unfortunately unable to attend the symposium in Japan last year, this volume serves as a testament to both the hard work of the organizers and the wide range of research topics currently considered by plant lipidologists. Whilst the chance to witness the potentially volatile combination of lipids, sushi, beer and karaoke was sadly missed, it is safe to say that these scientific contributions have clearly hit the right note.
LITERATURE CITED
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Souter M, Topping J, Pullen M, Friml J, Palme K, Hackett R, Grierson D, Lindsey K. 2002. hydra Mutants of Arabidopsis are defective in sterol profiles and auxin and ethylene signaling. Plant Cell 14: 1017–31.
Coursol S, Fan LM, Le Stunff H, Spiegel S, Gilroy S, Assmann SM. 2003. Sphingolipid signalling in Arabidopsis guard cells involves heterotrimeric G proteins. Nature 423: 651–4.[CrossRef][Medline]
Maldonado AM, Doerner P, Dixon RA, Lamb CJ, Cameron RK. 2002. A putative lipid transfer protein involved in systemic resistance signalling in Arabidopsis. Nature 419: 399–403.[CrossRef][Medline]
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