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REVIEWS — PLANT TISSUE CULTURE AND BIOTECHNOLOGY EMERGING 1. TRENDS, editedby P.B. Kavi Kishore. Publishedby Universities Press (India) Ltd., Hyderabad, 1999, hardbound price Rs. 525/-, pp. xiii+314. (24 x 16 cm). The book provides a very broad spectrum on seed proteins, plant growth regulators, ofresearch presently being undertaken in plant oxidative stress, calcium channel blockers, etc. tissue culture in the various University Nevertheless, this publication has its own Departments throughout India as well as in a place incurrentliteratureonplanttissueculture, few research institutions and national research asitprovidesfirsthand informationonproblems laboratories. associatedwithtissuecultureofaverywiderange The book is a compilation of50 research ofplant species extending from ornamentals to papers presented at a symposium on ‘Emerging the more useful commercial varieties, be they TrendsinPlantTissueCultureandBiotechnology’ medicinal Withcinici Boswellia Alpinnici ( , , , held at Hyderabad in 1997. Bacopa), fruit bearing (Achras, papaya, litchi, Fromthevariousarticles, itisapparentthat cashew), aromatic (vanilla) or even wheat and the major thrust of research on plant tissue pulses. The information, particularly on tree culture in India is on micropropagation, for as species, will be of great use to prospective many as 20 out ofthe 50papers included in this researchers as there are enumerable problems volume deal with this topic, while only 5 papers associated with their culture techniques which deal with secondary metabolite production. The planttissueculturistsgenerally avoidbecauseof remainingpapers dwellonavastrange oftopics the difficulties involvedinraising such plantlets such as: somaclonal variations, anther culture, in the laboratory. stresstolerance, noduleinitiation, andhairyroot In summary, this volume will be a good culture. In fact, there are only 2 papers on addition to reference sources for scientists and molecular biology. The volume also includes 4 students engaged in plant tissue culture. papers ofgeneral interest to researchers in this KARMARKAR field; thesepapers provide essential information S.M. 2. FLORA AND FAUNA IN MUGHAL ART, edited by Som Prakash Vemia. Marg Publications, Mumbai,1999, hardbound price Rs. 1950/- (US$ 60), pp. 164+8 (33 x 25 cm). Eversince I readDr. SalimAli’spapers in would otherwise miss. JBNHS(Vols. 31 & 32, 1926-27)andProf. S.M. To enjoy the details, many paintings are Alvi and A. Rahman’s book jehangir the published full-scale (e.g. p. 104, 105) but some naturalist,nearly25yearsago,Iwantedtoknow paintings are small. For example, on page 39, more about wildlife during the Mughal period. Akbar watching elephant catching near Sipri is Marg Publications wins praise for bringing out soawesomethatIwishitwaspublishedfullscale a magnificent book flora and fauna in mughal to appreciate the beauty ofthis work of art by art.This33x25 cmcoffee-tablebookislavishly Keshav Khwurd. Interestingly, the original illustrated by some of the best painters of the painting is 32 x 20 cm, but unfortunately, it has Mughalperiod,includingthelegendaryMansur. been miniaturized in this book. The description ofpaintings is illuminating and I was particularly saddened to know that helps in identifying minute details which one most of the paintings are not present in Indian JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 96(3), DEC. 1999 459