Prochloron
A Microbial Enigma
Published on 23. November 1989
Book
Hardback
130 pages
978-0-412-01901-2 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
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Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
biography
Dimensions
Height: 148 mm
Width: 210 mm
Weight
480 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-412-01901-2 (9780412019012)
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Content
1.Introduction.- 2. Collection and Handling of Prochloron and Its Hosts.- Collection and Handling.- Didemnum molle.- Diplosoma virens.- Diplosoma similis.- Trididemnum cyclops.- Lissoclinum punctatum.- Lissoclinum voeltzkowi.- Lissoclinum patella.- 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.- Carbon Metabolism.- Photosynthesis-Irradiance Relationships.- Respiratory Behavior and Carbon Balance in Prochloron.- Properties of the Photosynthetic Pigments and Membranes of Prochloron.- Pigments and Pigment-Protein Complexes.- Why Has Prochloron a Chlorophyll a + b Harvesting System?.- Physiology of the Prochloron-Ascidian Association.- Photosynthesis and Respiration of Symbiotic Didemnids.- Nitrogen Assimilation.- Obligate Nature of Symbiosis.- 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.- Ribulose 1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase-Oxygenase.- Phosphoribulose Kinase.- Enzymes of Glucan Synthesis and Storage Carbohydrates.- Lipophilic Components.- Lipid and Sterol Composition.- Pigments.- Properties of Membrane Fractions.- Miscellaneous Compounds and Metabolic Investigations.- Proteins and Amino Acids.- Cell Wall Components.- Nucleic Acids.- Nitrogen Metabolism.- 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.