Reviewsresistance mechanisms. The second sentence of the paperbegins, 'disease resistance involves' and then goes on tolist four inducible defence mechanisms which are in-volved ; the accumulation of host synthesized phyto-alexins, deposition of lignin-like material , accum ulationof hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins and increases in theactivities of certain hydrolases. This paper, by Ryderer al ., and a further one by Dixon et al. show that a largebiochemical edifice is being constructed on the assump-tion that phaseollin and structurally related compoundsdo playa role in the defence reactions of the French beanplant. The evidence may be strong but it falls short ofcertainty and it would be a pity if the apparentunquestioning acceptance of such a role inhibits theapplication of molecular techniques to a re-examinationofthe basic premiss. This is one area where the applicationof molecular genetical techniques should provide un-equivocal answers. The apparent acceptance by Ryderet al. that hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins are involvedin defence reactions is also not justified, certainly not byanything presented in the papers dealing with thesecompounds, by Mazau, Rumeau & Esquerre-Tugaye,and by Showalter et al. The only evidence presented byMazau et al. is that the accumulation of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins is closely associated with resistancebut an association, no matter how close, does not establisha role in defence. Several hypotheses of how they may beinvolved are put forward but there is no indication thatany of them have been tested experimentally.

The application of molecular genetics to bacterialpathogens has had considerable impact on our knowledgeof the basis of pathogenicity and virulence and thi s isreflected in the five excellent papers in the section on themolecular biology of bacterial pathogenesis. These coverpectic enzyme production by Erwinia spp. (Collmer) , thegenetics of pathogenicity in Xanthomonas campestris(Daniels), genetic control ofpathogenicity in Pseudomonassyringae pv. phaseolicola (Li ndgren & Panopoulos),regulation of Agrobacterium genes by plant signal mole-cules (Okker er al.) and the role and genetic determinantsof plant growth regulators in olive knot disease (Surico).

The application ofmolecular genetics to fungal systemsis considerably less advanced and the object of mostpapers in the section on the molecular biology of fungalpathogenicity appears to be to illustrate how the tech-niques may be most profitably applied. Papers byTimberlake, Turner & Ward and van den Hondel et al.describe briefly what has been achieved with non-pathogenic fungi such as Neurospora and Aspergillus,putting most emphasis on the technology involved.Yoder et al. describe the methods developed by theCornell group with Cochliobolus heterostrophus and Nee-tria haematococca, This section also contains an inter-esting paper by Staples et al. on gene expression duringinfection structure development by germlings of rustfungi.

Overall, this is a welcome addition to the literaturealthough its usefulness will be restricted by a ratherpoorly organized index. For example it is a little odd tofind one entry entitled 'biology of plant-pathogeninteractions ' referring only to p. 15-20 when this issupposed to be the main topic of the book. Furthermore,many subjects, particularly individual hosts and parasites,are mentioned many more times in the text than is

indicated in the index . For such an expensive book oneshould expect a more comprehensive and helpful index.

D. D. CLARKE

Kaminski's Teaching Slides on Medical Mycology. ByDAVID H. ELLIS (Adelaide Children's Hospital Edu-cational Resource Centre, 1987.) Pp. 72 + 54035 mmcolour transparencies. Prepaid orders AS425 (Australiaand New Zealand), AS600 (other countries). Obtainablefrom Educational Resource Centre, Adelaide Child-ren's Hospital, North Adelaide, SA 5006, Australia.

A set of 100 colour transparencies on subcutaneous andsystematic mycoses was produced by Geraldine Kaminskiin 1975. This was distributed by the Australian Soc ietyfor Microbiology and following its high demand workwas started on a second set to cover the dermatophytes.Unfortunately Geraldine Kaminski was never able tocomplete this task. It is a measure of the esteem in whichshe is held as a scientist that this collection of material, inmuch expanded form, finally makes its appearance underthe aegis of David Ellis. Not only has the set ondermatophytes now been completed, but the earlier set isupgraded and a series of slides on classification andstructure of fungi, fungal pathogenicity (in medicalterms) and medical mycology have been added to form acomprehensive collection. The purpose of the collectionand the accompanying text is to provide a set of annotatedteaching slides covering the clinical and mycologicalfeatures of human and veterinary pathogenic fungi likelyto be encountered in Australasia, South East Asia andOceania.

The slides are mounted in A4 plastic holders containedin a ring binder ; the text is separate and ring bound.Slides are cross-referenced to text by number.

The first point to emphasize is that the slides, whetherthey be of printed captions, symptoms, scanning or trans-mission electron microscopy, light microscopy (showingstandard stained material or histological preparations),techniques of examination or culture details, are simplyof superb quality. The first 59 slides deal in simple termswith a brief general introduction on stru cture andclassification of fungi . The user is then quickly launchedinto the clinical groupings of fungal infection which leadto slides and texts on the mycoses. Coverage of individualmycoses is quite detailed. For Micr osporum canis, afrequent cause of ringworm in humans, especiallychildren, the slides comprise a caption with briefexplanation of the disease, seven examples of symptomsshowing the condition at different stages, a mounted hairwith small-spored ectothrix invasion, a culture of M.canis and its reverse, a slide culture demonstratingmacro- and micro-conidia, a strain with dysgonic growthand finally surface growth and sporulation on polishedrice grains. The text is brief and to the point.

Although the slides and text are aimed at the teacher inmedical mycology and microbiology I can see some meritin them being used at the diagnostic level, such is thequality of presentation and accuracy of the information.They are a preferable alternative to standard textbookkeys and illustrations, for the transparencies show inexcellent colour the symptoms, microscopic details andculture characteristics that the clinician or mycologist willsee. This doubles the value, a not inconsiderable factor indeciding on purchase. B. C. SUTTON