Evolution of Microbial Life
Cambridge University Press
Published on 13. November 1996
Book
Hardback
313 pages
978-0-521-56432-8 (ISBN)
Description
It is now well accepted that microbial life followed very quickly after the formation of liquid water on the early earth, and that for the next 3000 million years life was a unicellular phenomenon. During this immense period of time all the major types of microbes appeared, as did all the fundamental chemical pathways necessary for life. This diversification was not well appreciated until the techniques of molecular biology provided a means to examine the relationships between microorganisms which share few, if any, phenotypic characters. This volume reviews the current understanding of the evolution of microbial life during that time. The chapters draw together the various threads of the story to uncover what has been learned about the process of evolution itself and what this knowledge can contribute to the understanding of biodiversity. Available at discount to members of the Society of General Microbiology - Please contact the society for details.
Reviews / Votes
'I would strongly recommend this excellent book to anyone who is interested in the evolution of life.' Society for General MicrobiologyMore details
Series
Edited by Melanie Scourfield
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
9 Halftones, unspecified; 80 Line drawings, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
658 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-56432-8 (9780521564328)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Editor
Natural History Museum, London
University of Nottingham
University of Bradford
Queen's University Belfast
Content
Preface; 1. Introduction and overview W. F. Doolittle; 2. Evidence of early life W. Schopf; 3. The diversity of life S. Giovanonni; 4. The common ancestor J. Lake; 5. Organellar evolution M. Gray; 6. Relationships between viruses E. Holmes; 7. Evolution of Hepatitis C P. Simmonds; 8. Eukaryotic molecular diversity M. Sogin; 9. Anaerobic physiology T. Fenchel; 10. Evolutionary trends in the fungi R. Moore; 11. Symbiosis A. Douglas; 12. The evolution of metabolic pathways L. Dijkhuizen; 13. Horizontal transfer P. Gogarten; Index.