Abstract
The development of symbiosis research over the closing 50 years of the last millenium is reviewed. At the beginning of this period, there had been very little previous research into aquatic microbial symbiosis. The advent of new experimental techniques, combined with the developing acceptance of the symbiotic origin of eukaryotic cell structure (and especially that chloroplasts evolved from a symbiosis involving photosynthetic aquatic microbes) brought symbiosis research into much greater prominence for a time in the 1970s and 1980s. Nevertheless, at the end of the millenuim, symbiosis as a subject still lacks a clear and strong identity amongst biologists in general. Three reasons are identified for this: continuing absence of a generally accepted definition of the term; little or no representation in the academic structure of biology; and the current adverse climate of research funding in many countries. However, the growing importance of symbiosis in biotechnology and in conserving biodiversity makes future prospects much brighter.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Ahmadjian, V. & S. Paracer, 1986. Symbiosis. An Introduction to Biological Associations. University Press of New England. Hanover & London.
Billinghurst, Z., A. E. Douglas & H. G. Rapido-Rosenthal, 1997. On the genetic diversity of the symbiosis between the coral Montastraea cavernosa and zooxanthellae in Bermuda. In Proceedings of the 8th International Coral Reef Symposium Vol. 2: 1291–1294.
Douglas, A. E., 1994. Symbiotic Interactions. Oxford University Press. Oxford, New York & Tokyo.
Douglas, A. E., 1995. The Ecology of Symbiotic Microorganisms. Adv. Ecol. Res. 26: 69–103.
Downie, A., 1997. Fixing a symbiotic circle. Nature 387: 352–353.
Freiburg, C. et al., 1997. Molecular basis of symbiosis between Rhizobium and legumes. Nature 387: 394–401.
Harley, J. L. & C. C. McCready, 1952. The uptake of phosphate by the mycorrhizal roots of the beech. II. Distribution of phosphorus between host and fungus. New Phytol. 51: 56–64.
Margulis, L. (As Sagan, L.), 1967. On the origin of mitosing cells. J. theor. Biol. 14: 225–275.
Margulis, L., 1970. Origin of Eukaryotic Cells. Yale University Press. New Haven and London.
Margulis, L., 1990. Words as battle cries — symbiogenesis and the new field of endocytobiology. Bioscience 40: 673–677.
Muscatine, L. & C. Hand, 1958. Direct evidence for transfer of materials from symbiotic algae to the tissues of a coelenterate. Proc. nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 44: 1259–1263.
Nutman, P. S. & B. Mosse, 1963. Editor's Preface. In Symbiotic Associations. 13th Symposium of the Society for General Microbiology. Cambridge University Press, London and New York: xi–xii.
Sapp, J., 1994. Evolution by Association. A History of Symbiosis. Oxford University Press. New York.
Simon, L. et al., 1993. Origin and diversification of endomycorrhizal fungi and coincidence with vascular land plants. Nature 363: 67–69.
Small, A. L. & M. J. McFall-Ngai, 1999. A halide peroxidase in tissues that interact with bacteria in the host squid Euprymna scolopes. J. Cell. Biochem. 72: 445–447.
Smith, D. C., 1960. Studies in the Physiology of Lichens. 3. Experiments with Dissected Discs of Peltigera polydactyla. Ann. Bot. 24: 186–199.
Smith, D. C., 1961. The Physiology of Peltigera polydactyla (Neck.) Hoffm. Lichenologist 1: 209–226.
Smith, D. C. & A. E. Douglas, 1987. The Biology of Symbiosis. Edward Arnold. London.
Smith, D. C. & D. H. Lewis, 1967. Sugar Alcohols (Polyols) in Fungi and Green Plants. 1. Distribution, Physiology and Metabolism. New Phytol. 66: 143–184.
Smith, D. C., L. Muscatine & D. H. Lewis, 1969. Carbohydrate movement from autotrophs to heterotrophs in parasitic and mutualistic symbiosis. Biol. Rev. 44: 17–70.
Van den Heijden, M. G. et al., 1998. Mycorrhizal fungal diversity determines plant biodiversity, ecosystem variability and productivity. Nature 396: 69–72.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, D.C. Symbiosis research at the end of the millenium. Hydrobiologia 461, 49–54 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012765114474
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012765114474