Annals of Botany 95/2 © Annals of Botany Company 2005; all rights reserved
New frontiers in bryology – physiology, molecular biology and functional genomics.
Wood AJ, Oliver MJ, Cove DJ, eds. 2004. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. £63 (hardback). 203 pp.
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Bryophytes (mosses, liverworts and hornworts) are an important and often neglected group of plants. They are ubiquitous within the terrestrial environment and many have the ability to tolerate extreme environmental conditions. Their position as the closest living relatives of the earliest land plants makes bryophytes indispensable in the study of plant evolution. The efficiency of homologous recombination within P. patens confirms its suitability as a model plant for genomic research, a point much emphasized throughout the book.
The book is set out with the chapters concerning genomics and molecular biology at the beginning, and those covering physiology at the end. Chapters 1, 2 and 6 cover various aspects of bryophyte evolution and phylogeny, and may have been better served grouped together. Chapter 1 provides a good introduction, with useful information such as the importance of the choice of locus type in evolutionary studies; fast-evolving loci being only able to address questions of short-term phylogeny, while slow-evolving loci conserve information on old diversification events. Terms were well explained for a beginner, but detail was also present for more experienced researchers. Chapter 2 introduces the use of EST (expressed sequence tags) within this area (a theme that is reiterated in subsequent chapters) and gives an overview of the three main EST databases currently being complied and in use, and their relevant web addresses (www.moss.leeds.ac.uk, www.cosmoss.org and www.moss.nibb.ac.jp). Experimental methods are explained in greater detail through the use of examples and there is an emphasis on the collaborative nature of modern research. Subsequent chapters cover a variety of topics in detail including targeted mutagenesis, gene tagging, gene and enhancer-trapping, and expand upon the creation and application of EST and cDNA libraries.
Of the chapters concerning genomics and molecular biology, Chapter 5 takes a slightly different approach, detailing the use of molecular and genomic tools in the context of desiccation; the ultimate aim of this work being the identification and determination of all desiccation-tolerant genes in plants! It is encouraging to see that species other than P. patens have a role to play, and good to have the molecular approach explained in a context with wider appeal.
The later chapters cover diverse topics such as lipid metabolism, the importance of phytochrome and other photoreceptors in mosses, and cell polarity. Chapters 9 (phytochrome) and 11 (cell polarity), in particular, are explained with clarity. A number of the papers are quite technical, presenting difficulty for a complete novice, but all contain useful information and important contacts for workers already engaged or beginning in this field.
My main criticism of the book is not the content, but the presentation. With numerous typographical and grammatical errors, the whole book would have benefited from a further proof reading. Chapter 8 is particularly frustrating and a thorough search for the much-referred-to Table 2 failed to locate it. While the authors of Chapter 9 have helpfully included cross-references with other chapters, these were unfortunately incorrectly numbered. The inclusion of web addresses gives access to a number of useful online tools and gems such as the NASA web site, but despite numerous attempts I was unable to access one of the most cited sites (www.moss.leeds.ac.uk), a fault which is hopefully not permanent. The addition of an index and also a glossary would have saved much time when cross-referencing chapters, a process encouraged by the collaborative and overlapping nature of the work.
In general I thought this was a good and much needed book. It fills a gap, certainly in the bryological literature, and highlights the relevance and importance of bryological research today. It is also timely in its publication as funding has recently been announced for the sequencing of the Physcomitrella genome. I suggest that this book is generally accessible and necessary reading for anyone involved in bryological research, and of interest to those involved in the physiology, molecular biology or functional genomics of higher plants. I would particularly recommend this text to anyone thinking of embarking on similar research.
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