Origins of plastids : symbiogenesis, prochlorophytes, and the origins of chloroplasts

Origins of Plastids looks at symbiosis and symbiogenesis as a mechanism of evolution. This theory of endosymbiotic evolution postulates that photosynthetic prokaryotes living as endosymbionts within eukaryotic cells gradually evolved into the organelle structures called chloroplasts. The theory is controversial but has been strongly advocated by Lynn Margulis. Based on a colloquium held at the Bodega Bay Marine Laboratory of the University of California at Davis, Origins of Plastids reviews recent data on this most basic problem in plant evolution. In it, leading researchers in the field apply the theory of endosymbiotic evolution to plastid origins, producing an important new reference work for both professionals and graduates interested in the origins of life, the origins of the eukaryotic cell and its organelles, and the evolution of the higher plants in general. Origins of Plastids represents the state-of-the-art in its field. It should find a place on the bookshelves of people interested in microbiology, plant science, phycology, cell biology, and evolution. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introductory Remarks....Pages 1-8 Chloroplast-Retention in Ciliated Protozoa....Pages 9-26 Green Ciliates:Principles of Symbiosis Formation Between Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Partners....Pages 27-43 Insights into Symbiotic Acquisition of Organelles from Studies of the Green Hydra....Pages 45-52 From Prey via Endosymbiont to Plastid: Comparative Studies in Dinoflagellates....Pages 53-76 Membranes and Plastid Origins....Pages 77-106 The Evolution of Algal Chloroplasts....Pages 107-121 Prochlorophyte Evolution and the Origin of Chloroplasts: Morphological and Molecular Evidence....Pages 123-139 Comparison of Sequences and Organization of Photosynthesis Genes among the Prochlorophyte Prochlorothrix Hollandica , Cyanobacteria, and Chloroplasts....Pages 141-158 Molecular Phylogeny of Oxygenic Cells and Organelles Based on Small-Subunit Ribosomal RNA Sequences....Pages 159-170 Molecular Phylogeny of Algal Plastids: A Brief Review of Host/Endosymbiont Genome Development Based on Sequence Comparisons....Pages 171-192 Phylogenetic Origin of the Plastids....Pages 193-221 Origin and Evolution of Plastids from Chlorophyll- a + c -Containing Algae: Suggested Ancestral Relationships to Red and Green Algal Plastids....Pages 223-263 Probable Evolutionary History of Cryptomonad Algae....Pages 265-290 The Origin, Losses and Gains of Chloroplasts....Pages 291-348 Plastid Phylogeny and the Problem of Biased Base Composition....Pages 349-353 Envoi....Pages 355-360 Back Matter....Pages 361-393