In the course of evolution, plants have acquired a whole set of distinct but partially overlapping stress response systems helping them to survive and propagate under a multitude of unfavourable environmental conditions. The book deals mainly with the molecular and cell biological aspects of stress response. A concise description of heat shock is followed by a discussion of similarities and differences with regard to other stress response systems. These include oxidation, heavy metals, anaerobiosis, low temperature, water deficiency, starvation, wounding, pathogen infections and genomic stress. In all cases, phenomena of induced stress tolerance are observed. The analysis of stress-induced genes frequently leads to multigene families also integrated into developmental programs.
