An Introduction to Agricultural Biochemistry [Paperback]

Agricultural Biochemistry will provide an introduction to the subject of biochemistry from a perspective that will be particularly applicable to agricultural scientists. It will focus on the chemistry of plant and animal metabolism and the biomolecules that are involved in these pathways and then go on to discuss strategies plants and animals adopt for processing of nutrients, the adaptation of these organisms to environmental conditions and the ways in which new genetic engineering techniques can be used to manipulate growth.Agricultural Biochemistry will provide an introduction to the subject of biochemistry from a perspective that will be particularly applicable to agricultural scientists. It will focus on the chemistry of plant and animal metabolism and the biomolecules that are involved in these pathways and then go on to discuss strategies plants and animals adopt for processing of nutrients, the adaptation of these organisms to environmental conditions and the ways in which new genetic engineering techniques can be used to manipulate growth.One: The Cell and Cellular Constituents.- 1 Cell structure and function.- 1.1 Introduction.- 1.2 Components of cells.- 1.2.1 Plasma membrane.- 1.2.2 Cytoplasm.- 1.2.3 The nucleoid and nucleus.- 1.2.4 Cell walls.- 1.2.5 Ribosomes.- 1.2.6 Endoplasmic reticulum.- 1.2.7 Vacuoles and specialized vesicles.- 1.2.8 Mitochondria.- 1.2.9 Chloroplasts.- 1.2.10 Cytoskeleton.- 1.3 Cell specialization and interaction.- 2 Water and solutions.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 The ionization of water.- 2.2.1 The pH of water.- 2.3 What are acids and bases?.- 2.4 Biological systems, ionic strength and pH.- 2.4.1 Stabilization of pH by buffers.- 2.5 Colligative properties.- 2.5.1 Depression of freezing point.- 2.5.2 Osmotic pressure.- 2.5.3 Semipermeable membranes that allow some solutes to pass.- 3 The carbohydrates.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 Structures of sugars.- 3.2.1 Optical isomers.- 3.3 Naming of sugars.- 3.4 Sugars with four carbonl3%