Preface; 1. Historical perspectives; 2. The collared flagellate: functional morphology and ultrastructure; 3. Craspedida: choanoflagellates with exclusively organic coverings; 4. Loricate choanoflagellates: Acanthoecida; 5. Loricate choanoflagellates: requirement for silicon and its deposition in costal strips; 6. Loricate choanoflagellates: Acanthoecidae – nudiform species; 7. Loricate choanoflagellates: Stephanoecidae – tectiform species; 8. Loricate choanoflagellates: evolutionary relationship between the nudiform and tectiform conditions; 9. Choanoflagellate ecology; 10. Choanoflagellate phylogeny: evolution of metazoan multicellularity; Glossary; Figure credits; References; Index.
A unique account of the biology, ecology and evolution of choanoflagellates - the closest, known, living, unicellular relatives of animals.
Barry S. C. Leadbeater is a retired Reader in Protistology at the University of Birmingham. His academic research interests include: ultrastructure, physiology and ecology of algae and protozoa, whereas his biotechnological research interests include: algae and water quality; physiology of algal/protistan biofilms and biological aspects of water treatment processes. He has authored and co-authored over 80 papers, edited five books and, presently, he is a monitoring editor of the journal Protist.
'We look around and see a world full of animals, plants and fungi,
but our eyes are deceptive. Most life on Earth is microscopic.
Amongst the great diversity of single-celled life, the
choanoflagellates deserve our special attention. As well as being
important ecologically, choanoflagellates occupy a position of
pivotal significance in the evolution of life. They are the closest
single-celled relatives of the animal kingdom. To understand how
animals evolved, we must study choanoflagellates. In this landmark
book, Barry Leadbeater ranges from ecology and evolution, through
to cell biology and ultrastructure, to reveal the secrets and the
significance of these important and amazingly beautiful organisms.'
Peter Holland, University of Oxford
'Leadbeater is the world's foremost authority on choanoflagellates
and has crafted a beautifully written and fascinating treatment of
their biology, diversity, and potential to reveal the protozoan
ancestry of animals. The reader's journey starts in the mid-1800s,
with Leadbeater providing a definitive history of the discoveries,
missteps, controversies, personal rivalries and ultimate
resolutions of important questions surrounding the early study of
these important organisms. From there, Leadbeater provides an
exhaustive accounting of what is currently known about the cell
biology, physiology, ecology, and evolution of choanoflagellates,
while also pointing out the many mysteries and outstanding
questions that remain. The community of choanoflagellate
researchers is growing, in large part due to the foundational
research of Barry Leadbeater, and this book will be essential
reading for all those interested in the lessons that
choanoflagellates have to teach us about animal origins, microbial
ecology, and the regulation of complex cellular ultrastructures.'
Nicole King, University of California, Berkeley
'A significant strength of the book is its comprehensive approach
to all aspects of choanoflagellate biology combined with the
author's extensive experience with this group … an all-embracing
state-of-the-art snapshot of choanoflagellate research … a valuable
book for anyone interested in the diversity of eukaryotes and the
biology of heterotrophic nanoflagellates and a must for anyone
addressing any aspect of choanoflagellate biology.' Jens Boenigk,
Marine Biology Research
'Barry Leadbeater has given us the book [the choanoflagellates]
deserve and every protistologist should have this in their personal
library.' John R. Dolan, Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology
'This book is a beautiful, current compendium on
choanoflagellates.' Jack Cohen, The Biologist
'The Choanoflagellates is an excellent and authoritative book that
covers all aspects of this group of protozoans and it will remain
so for quite some time. It can be warmly recommended to
protozoologists and to anyone interested in the origin of metazoans
and in the evolution of multicellularity.' Tom Fenchel, The
Quarterly Review of Biology
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