This book, written at professional and reference level, provides the growing
number of scientists interested in plant cell walls with an overview of some of the
key research areas, and provides a conceptual bridge between the wealth of biochemistry-oriented cell wall literature that has accumulated over the last fi fty years,
and the technology-driven approaches that have emerged more recently. The timing is especially appropriate, given the recent completion of the fi rst plant genome
sequencing projects and our entry into the ‘post-genomic’ era. Such breakthroughs
have given an exciting glimpse into the substantial size and diversity of the families
of genes encoding cell wall-related proteins and, as with most areas of biological
complexity, the greater the apparent resolution, the greater the number of questions
that are subsequently raised. A common approach of the chapters is therefore to
provide suggestions and predictions about where each of the fi elds of wall research
is heading and which milestones are likely to be reached.
Due to size limitations, it has not been possible to cover all the areas of cell wall