Chloroplast development is a key feature of leaf developmental program.
Recent advances in plant biology reveal that chloroplasts also determine
the development, the structure and the physiology of the entire plant.
The books, published thus far, have emphasized the biogenesis of the
organelle, but not the events associated with the transformation of the
mature chloroplast to the gerontoplast during senescence. This book,
with 28 chapters, is unique because it describes how the chloroplast
matures and how it is subsequently transformed to become the
gerontoplast during senescence, a process required for nutrient
recycling in plants. This book includes a state-of-the-art survey of the
current knowledge on the regulation and the mechanisms of chloroplast
development. Some of the chapters critically discuss the signaling
process, the expression potential of plastid DNA, the interaction of
cellular organelles, and the molecular mechanisms associated with the
assembly and the disassembly of organellar complexes and finally the
modulation of chloroplast development by environmental signals.