Growth and development: a broad view of fine detail.

www.sciencedirect.com In this issue we cut a broad section through the information provided by a variety of approaches ranging from the analysis of whole organs to molecular studies on the most basic aspects of cell growth, division, and identity. We find that our understanding of processes as fundamental as alternation of generations, organ formation, cell polarity, cell identity, responses to environmental cues, and the shift from vegetative to reproductive growth is advancing rapidly. Several of the articles in this issue note parallels between pathways utilized for developmental control in plants and animals and these comparisons promise to aid in understanding their evolutionary origins.