Pigment of the Imagination chronicles the story of phytochrome, the bright-blue photoreversible pigment through which plants constantly monitor the quality and presence of light. The book begins with work that led to the discovery of phytochrome and ends with the latest findings in gene regulation and expression. The phytochrome story provides a paradigm for the process of scientific discovery. This book should thus be of interest to scientists who work on phytochrome and related subjects in plant science, as well as to all scientists and science historians interested in how a scientific research field begins, develops, and matures.
Documents the science and history of phytochrome research over an 80 year span
Combines information from scientific literature, archival documents, and in-person inteviews
Describes in scholarly and readable style an elegant example of biological discovery
Accessible to researchers and students in all areas of science and history of science

Daylength and Flowering. The 1930s. Spectral Studies. Action Spectra for Floral Induction. Action Spectra for Elongation Growth. Photoreversible Pigment The 1950s. High-Energy Responses. Detection. Partial Purification. Properties of Phytochrome. In Vivo Spectrophotometric Studies. Seed Germination and Flowering. Photoperiodic Timing. Mougeotia. Mode of Action. The Hartmann Model. Large Phytochrome. Gene Regulation Hypothesis. Dark Transformations. Localization. Properties of Large Phytochrome. Membrane Hypothesis. High-Irradiance Responses. Very Low Fluence Response: A Dimer Model. Shade Avoidance. The Chromophore. Native Phytochrome. Native Pr and Pfr. Sequestered Phytochrome. Multiple Phytochromes. Gene Regulation. Autoregulation. Phytochrome and Flowering. Epilogue: Weed Control. Colored Mulch. Index.