The essential features of constitution, configuration, and conformation
in carbo- hydrate chemistry, so well established in the . first half of
this century, had yet to be exploited by those concerned with
biochemical and physiological processes in plants when the original
Encyclopedia appeared. Two outstanding developments, discovery of sugar
nucleotides and the advent of chromatography, brought together the
insight and a means of probing complexities inherent in plant
carbohydrates. These advances, combined with a modern knowledge of
enzymes and cellular metabolism, have provided new horizons of
investigation for the student of plant physiology. This volume and its
companion (Vol. 13B) present a comprehensive assess- ment of the current
viewpoint in plant carbohydrates with emphasis on those aspects which
impinge on physiological processes of growth and development. To
accommodate the extensive amount of information to be presented, subject
matter has been divided, somewhat arbitrarily, into intracellular and
extracellular carbohydrates, with the latter defined as carbohydrates
occurring in space out- side the plasma membrane (plasmalemma). This
classification is not exclusive; rather it is intended to lend a degree
of flexibility to the way in which subject matter is arranged between
volumes. The first section of this volume addresses the occurrence,
metabolism, and function of monomeric and higher saccharides of fungi,
algae, and higher plants.