The Chloroplast

From August 10 to August 15, 1998, an international Advanced Research Workshop-Lecture Course on The chloroplast: from Molecular Biology to Biotechnology was held at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, Kolymbari-Chania, on the island of Crete, Greece. After five previous meetings on the chloroplast topic in Marburg (1975), Spetses (1978), Rhodos (1985), Aghia Pelaghia, Crete (1991) and Marburg (1995) this conference proved again that chloroplast research is continuously in the focus of intensive research interest. The meeting, sponsored by NATO and supported by the Federation of the European Societies for Plant Physiology (FESPP) and the Greek Ministry of Development (General Secretariat of Research and Development), was held under the auspices of the International Society for Chloroplast Development and the National Center for Scientific Research "Demokritos", Athens-Greece. Aim of the workshop was to bring together experts and students from different disciplines, coming from various countries around the world, studying chloroplast biogenesis from different perspectives in an effort to propose biotechnological approaches, via genetic manipulation of the organelle, applicable in solving problems of economic importance. Ninety scientists (including observers) coming from 19 countries actively participated and discussed recent advances in the field. During the meeting it became clear that as a result of the progress made in molecular biology, including genomic sequence, and in biochemistry over recent years, this exciting field of chloroplast development is continuously promoted by renewed interest in as yet unsolved but very important questions.

`It can be recommended to those graduate students and scientists already familiar with chloroplast research. Not only those having participated in this conference will appreciate this overview, but also all those who want to enter this field or want to obtain a broad information on the recent development in chloroplast research.'
Journal of Plant Physiology, 157 (2000)
`The book is a very important up-to-date summary of what is new in chloroplast research, and the individual approach of the authors in writing the chapters stamps the character of the volume. It is a fascinating high-level reading for scientists and university students interested in plant physiology, genetic, biochemistry, and molecular biology.'
Biologia Plantarum, 43:4(2000)