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Molecular Analysis of Plastid Evolution

  • Conference paper
Molecular Ecology of Aquatic Microbes

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIG,volume 38))

Abstract

The endosymbiotic origin of plastids from cyanobacterial endosymbionts is now generally accepted. Early formulations of this theory (Schimper, 1885; Mereschkowski, 1905) were induced by the mere similarity in morphology, chlorophyll pigments and photosynthetic function between the photosynthetic organelles of autotrophic eukaryotes and their ancestors and extant relatives, then termed “blue-green algae”. This pioneering idea formulated in the absence of any data in comparative biochemistry became forgotten for many years and had to compete after its revival (Margulis, 1970) with hypotheses postulating an autogenous origin of the eukaryotic cell through intracellular compartmentalization and functional specialization (Cavalier-Smith, 1975; Uzzell and Spolsky, 1974). Now a wealth of conclusive biochemical data is available. These should be reviewed briefly before entering into the molecular data, were doubtless responsible for the breakthrough of the endosymbiotic theory in the 1980s.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology and Ludwig-Boltzmann-Forschungsstelle für Biochemie, University of Vienna Biocenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9, A-1030, Vienna, Austria

    Wolfgang Löffelhardt

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  1. Wolfgang Löffelhardt
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Natural Environment Research Council, Prospect Place, The Hoe, PL1 3DH, Plymouth, UK

    Ian Joint

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© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Löffelhardt, W. (1995). Molecular Analysis of Plastid Evolution. In: Joint, I. (eds) Molecular Ecology of Aquatic Microbes. NATO ASI Series, vol 38. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79923-5_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79923-5_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-79925-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-79923-5

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