| Contents |
Introduction -- The tree of life -- The pathway leading to the tree -- 1. The tree's microbial branches: The fungi -- The protists -- The archaea -- The bacteria -- The tree's phantom branch -- The impact of the tree's microbes -- Is the tree complete? -- Part 1. Discovering the tree of life -- 2. Relationships among organisms: Taxonomy -- A problem with bacteria -- Macromolecules hold the key -- Ribosomes -- 3. Enter DNA: Writing instructions for life -- Does ribosomal RNA have a longer reach? -- 4. The Rosetta Stone: Discovering the third domain of life -- 5. From the tree's roots to its branches: A taxonomy of bacteria and archaea -- Naming the major divisions of life -- Prokaryotes and eukaryotes -- Impact of Woese's methods -- Part 2. Doubts and complications -- 6. Genes from neighbor. DNA on the loose -- Microbial sex -- Viral transfer of genes -- 7. Can the receiving cell just say no? -- Restriction and modification -- Prokaryotic immunity -- Horizontal gene transfer among prokaryotes -- 8. Can the tree be trusted? -- Enter Lynn Margulis -- Are there other candidates? -- Are there other example? -- What threat is horizontal gene transfer to the tree of life? -- Part 3. The tree's benefits -- 9. Low-hanging ecological fruit -- The microbiome -- Distorting the microbiome of our gut -- Other impacts of the microbiome -- The gut microbiome -- Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) -- Part 4. The origin of life -- 10. The tree's beginnings -- Panspermia -- The warm little pond -- Membranes -- The RNA world -- Did life originate at the bottom of the ocean? -- The Dyson view of life's beginnings -- All in the same pond -- In the beginning remains just there. |
| Abstract |
By unlocking the evolutionary information contained in cells, biologists have been able to construct the Tree of Life and show that its three main stems are dominated by microbes. Plants and animals constitute a small upper branch in one stem. Soon we may know how life began over 3.5 billion years ago. John Ingraham tells this story of discovery.-- Provided by publisher |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| LCCN | 2016037619 |
| ISBN | 9780674660403 (alk. paper) |
| ISBN | 0674660404 |
| Standard identifier# |
40027090733 |
| Standard identifier# |
40027108240 |
