Originally published in 1992, Perspectives in Plant Cell Recognition presents a review of advances in understanding the cellular, molecular and genetic mechanisms governing cell–cell interactions in plants. In the case of the interaction between different cells of the same plant, progress in the study of gametes and associated organs during sexual reproduction is examined. Progress in the study of associations between somatic cells crucial to coordinated tissue development are also reported. Interactions between plant cells and cells of other organisms are then represented by consideration of plant pathogenesis and examples of mutualistic symbiosis. In particular, the Rhizobium/legume symbiosis has been studied extensively and the genes controlling the specificity of the interaction and involved in creating a harmonious mutualism have been cloned and their products identified.