Evolution of Photosynthesis
One of the main reasons for interest in Chloroflexus aurantiacus is in the study of the evolution of photosynthesis. As terrestrial mammals, we are most familiar with photosynthetic plants such as trees. However, photosynthetic eukaryotes are a relatively recent evolutionary development. Photosynthesis by eukaryotic organisms can be traced back to endosymbiotic events in which non-photosynthetic eukaryotes internalized photosynthetic organisms. The chloroplasts of trees still retain their own DNA as a molecular remnant that indicated their origin as photosynthetic bacteria.
Read more about this topic: Chloroflexus Aurantiacus
Famous quotes containing the words evolution of and/or evolution:
“The evolution of humans can not only be seen as the grand total of their wars, it is also defined by the evolution of the human mind and the development of the human consciousness.”
—Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)
“As a natural process, of the same character as the development of a tree from its seed, or of a fowl from its egg, evolution excludes creation and all other kinds of supernatural intervention.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)