Short, authoritative review articles on basic research topics allow researchers to follow trends and important developments outside their specialist area. Other sections include news of new papers and conferences, focus on industrial, pharmaceutical and agricultural developments, book and software reviews, and opinion articles on current developments. With broad coverage of basic plant science, from molecular biology through to ecology, including: Plant development; Growth regulation; Molecular cell biology and genetics; Signal transduction; metabolism, Nutrition, water relations and gas exchange; Symbiosis (especially mycorrhizae and rhizobia); Pathology and stress physiology; Population genetics and ecology; Molecular systematics.