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The Single Primary Endosymbiotic Event

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Abstract

Eukaryotic phototrophs arose between about 1,600 and 1,200 Mya through the incorporation of a cyanobacterium by a phagotrophic eukaryote. In a very special and complex process, the cyanobacterium and the heterotrophic cell complemented each other that well to change the predator–prey relationship to a mutualistic one: the cyanobacterium was converted into an obligate endosymbiont allowing phototrophy of the host cell and ultimately into an organelle, the plastid. Pros and cons of a scenario assuming a single primary endosymbiotic event leading to a protoalga ancestral to the kingdom “Plantae” are discussed.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, University of Vienna, Dr. Bohrgasse 9, 1030, Vienna, Austria

    Wolfgang Löffelhardt

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    Wolfgang Löffelhardt

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Löffelhardt, W. (2014). The Single Primary Endosymbiotic Event. In: Löffelhardt, W. (eds) Endosymbiosis. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1303-5_3

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