Origins of Algae and Their Plastids

Algae are of central importance in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Recent molecular sequence analyses show that the algae are of polyphyletic origin and that their evolution is best explained by tracing the endosymbiotic events that have resulted in the origins of their plastids. This volume provides a highly readable, thorough, and up-to-date account of the major findings in algal, cyanobacterial and plastid phylogeny. All major algal groups (e.g. green, red, heterokont, and dinoflagellate algae) are treated in separate chapters by leading experts on these groups.