Endosymbiosis

The origin of energy-conserving organelles, the mitochondria of all aerobic eukaryotes and the plastids of plants and algae, is commonly thought to be the result of endosymbiosis, where a

This book offers a lucid account of the processes of endosymbiosis, plus the founding theories and existing controversies of the discipline. Depicts molecular mechanisms, gene transfer, metabolic symbiosis and mitochondrial and plastid protein import and more.

Born in Vienna, Wolfgang Löffelhardt studied chemistry at the University of Vienna finalized 1972 with a thesis on the biosynthesis of secondary plant compounds. During a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Marburg/FRG he worked on aromatic metabolism in chloroplasts and - for comparative purposes - in cyanobacteria. This prompted his interest in the endosymbiotic evolution of plastids. Back in Vienna, he became lecturer and then associate professor at the Insitute of Biochemisty and Cell Biology which is now part of the Max F. Perutz Laboratories. In 1978 he found his favorite organism, Cyanophora paradoxa, which he has studied ever since, largely in collaboration with Hans J. Bohnert (Düsseldorf/FRG, Tucson/AZ, and Urbana/IL). The peculiar plastids of this alga are surrounded by an unique peptidoglycan wall, a convincing proof of the endosymbiont theory. After his retirement in October 2008 he joined the Cyanophora Genome Sequencing Project headed by Debashish Bhattacharya (New Brunswick/NJ). The recently completed genome corroborated the concept of a single primary endosymbiotic event, i.e., the monophyly of the kingdom "Plantae".

Part I The heterotrophic eukaryotes.-1. Mitochondria and the origin of eukaryotes, B. F. Lang, Montreal.- 2. Modifications and innovations in the evolution of the mitochondrial protein import pathways, V. Hewitt, T. Lithgow and R. F. Waller, Melbourne.- Part II Autotrophy as the driving force for endosymbiosis.- Primary endosymbiosis.-1.