Microbial Phylogeny and Evolution: Concepts and Controversies

Abstract

The origin of cells is arguably the most glaring gap in our understanding of biology; we cannot know who we are unless we know where we came from. Genesis is a challenge to microbiologists in particular, for during the first three billion years of our history, all the life that lived was unicellular. Microbial Phylogeny and Evolution provides an accessible, comprehensive, and reasonably current overview of where that quest presently stands. The book consists of 15 essays, prepared by the participants in a conference held at the University of Montreal in 2002, and skillfully edited by Jan Sapp; responses to the literature extend into 2003, occasionally beyond. Most of the material has also appeared in the primary literature, and will be familiar to experts; for the rest of us, having it all collected under a single cover gives one a much better sense of the tides, shoals, and whirlpools of these turbulent waters.