On the origin of plants and relations to contemporary cyanobacterial-plant symbioses

• Bergman Birgitta

  Department of Botany, Stockholm University

• Zheng Wei-Wen

  Biotechnology Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences

• Klint Johan

• Ran Liang

  Department of Botany, Stockholm University

Abstract

Cyanobacteria are highly versatile organisms in spite of their small size; they represent the smallest photosynthetic units on Earth, and gave rise to algae and plants. Cyanobacteria are globally widespread in terrestrial and aquatic environments, including the large oceans. In recent years they have attracted attention because of their high evolutionary importance, their developmental complexity, their unexpected pivotal ecological significance in global biogeochemical cycles and their production of a large number of secondary metabolites, many with great biotechnological potential. In this overview, focus is on the role of cyanobacteria in the origin and evolution of algae and plants, and on mechanisms in contemporary cyanobacterial-plant symbioses (Gunnera and Azolla) that may represent ‘blue-prints’ of those that some 2.1 billion years ago became the first chloroplasts.

Journal

• Plant Biotechnology

  Plant Biotechnology 25 (3), 213-220, 2008

  Japanese Society for Plant Biotechnology

Keywords

• Cyanobacteria
• plant evolution
• symbiosis
• secondary metabolites
• toxins

Details

• CRID: 1390282679303436800
• NII Article ID: 10021913189
• NII Book ID: AA11250821
• DOI: 10.5511/plantbiotechnology.25.213
• ISSN: 13476114
• ISSN: 13424580
• NDL BIB ID: 9558077
• Web Site: https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R000000004-I9558077
• Text Lang: en
• Data Source:
  • JaLC
  • NDL
  • Crossref
  • CiNii Articles
• Abstract License Flag: Disallowed