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Eukaryotic Algae

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Plant Desiccation Tolerance

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 215))

Abstract

Life on the land surface of the earth is impossible without the presence of water. Even simply organized, early prokaryotic organisms need to keep their cytoplasm hydrated for metabolic activity. The ability of early photosynthetic organisms to survive desiccation was one of the most important achievements for terrestrial life outside water. Desiccation tolerance must have evolved at least two times independently, first, in the prokaryotic algae (=cyanobacteria, Chap. 2) and, second, in the newly evolved eukaryotic algal lineages originating from either primary (green and red algae) or secondary endosymbiosis (brown algae). Desiccation-tolerant algae are found among the three major groups of the green land plants (Chlorobionta), the Chlorophyta, the Prasionophyta, and the Charophyta. Other desiccation-tolerant algae are found in the red algae (Rhodophyta) and the polyphyletic group of algae with heterokont flagellae, including the brown algae (Phaeophyceae).

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the editors for the invitation to contribute to that highly interesting volume of Ecological Studies. Parts of this work have been supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Botany, University of Kaiserslautern, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Burkhard Büdel

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  1. Burkhard Büdel
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Correspondence to Burkhard Büdel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. Botanik, TU Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3-5, Darmstadt, 64287, Germany

    Ulrich Lüttge

  2. Inst. Pflanzenphysiologie, Univ. Bayreuth, Bayreuth, 95440, Germany

    Erwin Beck

  3. Inst. Molekulare Physiologie und, Biotechnologie der Pflanzen (IMBIO), Universität Bonn, Kirschallee 1, Bonn, 53115, Germany

    Dorothea Bartels

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Büdel, B. (2011). Eukaryotic Algae. In: Lüttge, U., Beck, E., Bartels, D. (eds) Plant Desiccation Tolerance. Ecological Studies, vol 215. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19106-0_4

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