Overview

Ralph A. LewiQand Lanna Cheng In physics, the discovery of new (more properly, hitherto undetected) particles has often resulted from a search: like the discovery of America, their existence had been postulated but their actual existence awaited confirmation. In biology, new discoveries are rarely made in this way. The existence of an alga like Prochloron, as a putative ancestor of chloro­ plasts, had been postulated, but in fact its discovery was a consequence of fortuitous events. Green algal symbionts in didemnid ascidians had been known for decades to a few marine zoologists who had worked in coral reef areas, but nobody had bothered much about them. When we happened to find them, under boulders on a seashore in Baja California, Mexico, where we were taking part in a student expedition, we didn't bother much either at first, though they worried us a little. With our portable microscope we could see no nuclei in the cells, which, according to the dogma accepted at the time, indicated that they were blue-green algae-yet they didn't look blue-green. They were leaf-green, like green algae and higher plants. We made desultory attempts to grow them in culture, in variously enriched seawater media, but failed. (This proved to be a frustrating experience, all too frequently repeated on subsequent expeditions. ) We collected enough for electron microscopy, though, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies indicated that the cells were unequivocally prokaryotic.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ralph A. Lewin ,  Ralph A Lewin
Publisher:   Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Imprint:   Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Edition:   Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1989
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.271kg
ISBN:  

9781461282037

ISBN 10:   1461282039
Pages:   130
Publication Date:   12 October 2011
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

1.Introduction.- 2. Collection and Handling of Prochloron and Its Hosts.- Collection and Handling.- Treatment of Prochloron cells.- Conclusion.- 3. Prochloron in Symbiosis.- Photosynthesis.- Translocation.- Formation of the Symbiosis.- Biochemical Interactions between the Symbionts.- Other Interactions between the Symbionts.- References.- 4. Physiological and Cellular Features of Prochloron.- Photosynthetic Features of Prochloron.- Respiratory Behavior and Carbon Balance in Prochloron.- Properties of the Photosynthetic Pigments and Membranes of Prochloron.- Physiology of the Prochloron-Ascidian Association.- Some Suggested Physiological Requirements for the Culture of Prochloron.- Conclusion.- References.- 5. Biochemical Features of Prochloron.- General Features of Enzyme Isolation.- Enzymes of Photosynthetic Carbon Metabolism.- Enzymes of Glucan Synthesis and Storage Carbohydrates.- Lipophilic Components.- Properties of Membrane Fractions.- Miscellaneous Compounds and Metabolic Investigations.- Conclusion.- References.- 6. Phylogenetic Considerations of Prochloron.- Phylogenetic Position.- Phylogentic Rank.- Possible Relationship to Chloroplasts.- References.- 7. The Cytology of Prochloron.- The Cell Wall.- Thylakoids.- Inclusions.- Nucleic Acids.- Conclusion.- References.- 8. A Status Report on Prochlorothrix hollandica a Free-Living Prochlorophyte.- Epilogue.- Author Index.

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