Introductory Plant Biology

This introductory text in botany discusses photosynthesis and respiration at three levels. It emphasizes current interests of students, including subjects such as global warming, ozone-layer depletion, acid rain, genetic engineering, organic gardening, pollution and recycling, houseplants, backyard vegetable gardens, natural dye plants, poisonous and hallucinogenic plants, and the nutritional value of edible plants.

Reading level and amount of information is presented at an accessible level for non-science majors throughout the text.
Traditional, micro-macro approach (cells to ecology) to organizing chapters.
Popular appendices on care of houseplants and poisonous plants have been thoroughly updated. New material on medicinal plants has also been added.
Expanded coverage of ecological topics. Chapter 25 (Ecology) has been thoroughly updated and revised. NEW Ecological Review Boxes help students make connections between the material in the text and related ecological issues.
Comprehensive Online Learning Center offers PowerPoint lectures, botanical case studies, an on-line Study Guide, interactive web activities, hot links to cool sites, practice quizzing, sample syllabi and much more.
The Online Learning Center will be revised to feature animations on life cycles, photo gallery, ecological applications, and a greatly expanded reference to medicinal and herbal plants.
Chapter 14 has been completely rewritten and now features a new section on crop plant evolution, including discussions of origins of agriculture and steps in domestication. Additional updates include:· New section on plant breeding, including breeding strategies, gene banks, protoplast fusion and transgenic plants· Updated discussion of the pros and cons of transgenic plants· 22 new photos · New figure: Origins of crop plants· Glossary definitions updated and several new words addedTwenty-two new figures can be found in chapter 14.
Chapter 13 has been completely reorganized and features a New Awareness Box: The Polymerase Chain Reaction. In addition, the reader will find new sections on cytogenetics, extranuclear DNA and quantitative genetics. Additional updates to Chapter 13 include:
· Completely revised section on gene expression
· Mutation section revised and expanded
· Barbara McClintock's discovery of transposable elements introduced
· New figure: Linkage map of pea
· Glossary definitions updated and several new words added
Changes to Chapter 3: Cells
· Re-organization of the chapter topics to provide a more logical presentation of cellular components.
· Careful revision of all content as suggested by reviewers of the 8th Edition.
· Incorporation of 6 new figures, including transmission and scanning electron micrographs of cell structure. A new 'roadmap' cell has also been incorporated into the artwork to guide readers more easily through cellular components
· Complete re-writes of many sections including the Introduction, Modern Microscopes, Cell Structure and Communication, Cell Wall, Cellular Components, and parts of other sections.
· Inclusion of a general theme that guides readers through a journey of the plant cell as a voyage.
Changes to Chapter 10: Plant Metabolism include:
· Careful revision of all content as suggested by reviewers of the 8th Edition.
· Consistent use of terminology for NAD/NADH, NADP/NADPH, and FAD/FADH2 redox couples throughout the text and figures.
· Simplification of complex topics and shortening of the Chapter Summary to convey more basic information.
· Addition of a short section on Enzymes and Energy Transfer to provide basic information about Plant Metabolism.
· Addition of a Summary Table for ATP Production in Cellular Respiration.
· Addition of a short section on Secondary Metabolism.
· Inclusion of a text box entitled 'Photosynthesis and Pizza' for greater student appeal.
· Incorporation of 8 new/revised figures, including an overview of Plant Metabolism and details of reactions in the thylakoid membrane
Chapter 16 has been revised to reflect current classification schemes. The revised classification is this adopted in ensuing chapters.
The Medicinal Uses of Plant appendix has been heavily updated and expanded.
A new feature for the ninth edition is an illustration of the cell that serves as a 'map' for the student. This art is first introduced as a large illustration of the cell (Fig. 3. 4). In subsequent figures it is coupled with other images illustrating the various components of the cell. For example, as the student is shown the cell wall (Fig. 3.6), the plasma membrane (Fig. 3. 7), the inner and outer membranes, nuclear pores, chromatin, and nucleolus (Fig. 3.8), the endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes (Fig. 3.9), the dictyosome (Fig. 3.10), the chloroplasts (Fig. 3.11), and the mitochrondrion (Fig. 3.13), on each of these pieces of art they can refer to the smaller image of the entire cell and orientate themselves. This new feature has also been applied to difficult concepts in Chapter 10. 10.