Textbook Question
Consider the endosymbiosis theory for the origin of the mitochondrion. How did each endosymbiotic partner benefit from the relationship?
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Ch. 27 - Diversification of Eukaryotes
Freeman8th EditionBiological ScienceISBN: 9780138276263
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Table of contents
- Ch. 1 - Biology: The Study of Life13
- Ch. 2 - Water and Carbon: The Chemical Basis of Life14
- Ch.3 - Protein Structure and Function10
- Ch.4 - Nucleic Acids and the RNA World10
- Ch. 5 - An Introduction to Carbohydrates10
- Ch. 6 - Lipids, Membranes, and the First Cells11
- Ch. 7 - Inside the Cell10
- Ch. 8 - Energy and Enzymes: An Introduction to Metabolism10
- Ch. 9 - Cellular Respiration and Fermentation11
- Ch. 10 - Photosynthesis12
- Ch. 11 - Cell-Cell Interactions12
- Ch. 12 - The Cell Cycle8
- Ch. 13 - Meiosis12
- Ch. 14 - Mendel and the Gene23
- Ch. 15 - DNA and the Gene: Synthesis and Repair15
- Ch. 16 - How Genes Work16
- Ch. 17 - Transcription, RNA Processing, and Translation16
- Ch. 18 - Control of Gene Expression in Bacteria16
- Ch. 19 - Control of Gene Expression in Eukaryotes12
- Ch. 20 - The Molecular Revolution: Biotechnology, Genomics, and New Frontiers15
- Ch. 21 - Genes, Development, and Evolution12
- Ch. 22 - Evolution by Natural Selection16
- Ch. 23 - Evolutionary Processes13
- Ch. 24 - Speciation15
- Ch. 25 - Phylogenies and the History of Life13
- Ch. 26 - Bacteria and Archaea15
- Ch. 27 - Diversification of Eukaryotes16
- Ch. 28 - Green Algae and Land Plants16
- Ch. 29 - Fungi18
- Ch. 30 - An Introduction to Animals9
- Ch. 31 - Protostome Animals15
- Ch. 32 - Deuterostome Animals17
- Ch. 33 - Viruses16
- Ch. 34 - Plant Form and Function16
- Ch. 35 - Water and Sugar Transport in Plants16
- Ch. 36 - Plant Nutrition13
- Ch. 37 - Plant Sensory Systems, Signals, and Responses16
- Ch. 38 - Flowering Plant Reproduction and Development16
- Ch. 39 - Animal Form and Function17
- Ch. 40 - Water and Electrolyte Balance in Animals16
- Ch. 41 - Animal Nutrition16
- Ch. 42 - Gas Exchange and Circulation16
- Ch. 43 - Animal Nervous Systems16
- Ch. 44 - Animal Sensory Systems16
- Ch. 45 - Animal Movement11
- Ch. 46 - Chemical Signals in Animals16
- Ch. 47 - Animal Reproduction and Development16
- Ch. 48 - The Immune System in Animals16
- Ch. 49 - An Introduction to Ecology15
- Ch. 50 - Behavioral Ecology16
- Ch. 51 - Population Ecology16
- Ch. 52 - Community Ecology20
- Ch. 53 - Ecosystems and Global Ecology17
- Ch. 54 - Biodiversity and Conservation Ecology18
Chapter 27, Problem 9
Consider the following:
Plasmodium has an unusual organelle called an apicoplast. Recent research has shown that apicoplasts are derived from chloroplasts via secondary endosymbiosis and have a large number of genes related to chloroplast DNA.
Glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides. It works by poisoning an enzyme located in chloroplasts.
Biologists are testing the hypothesis that glyphosate could be used as an antimalarial drug in humans.
How are these observations connected?
Verified step by step guidance1
Understand the concept of secondary endosymbiosis: This is a process where a eukaryotic cell engulfs another eukaryotic cell that has already undergone primary endosymbiosis, leading to the formation of organelles like apicoplasts in Plasmodium.
Recognize the origin of apicoplasts: Apicoplasts in Plasmodium are derived from chloroplasts, which means they share similarities in structure and function, including the presence of genes related to chloroplast DNA.
Identify the target of glyphosate: Glyphosate is known to inhibit an enzyme in chloroplasts, which is crucial for the survival of plants. This enzyme is involved in the shikimate pathway, essential for the synthesis of certain amino acids.
Connect the dots between glyphosate and apicoplasts: Since apicoplasts are derived from chloroplasts, they may possess similar enzymes or pathways that glyphosate can target, potentially disrupting the function of the apicoplast in Plasmodium.
Evaluate the hypothesis: The hypothesis suggests that if glyphosate can inhibit the enzyme in apicoplasts similar to its action in chloroplasts, it could potentially serve as an antimalarial drug by impairing the survival of Plasmodium in humans.
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Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Apicoplast
An apicoplast is a unique organelle found in Plasmodium, the parasite responsible for malaria. It is believed to have originated from chloroplasts through secondary endosymbiosis, a process where a eukaryotic cell engulfs another eukaryotic cell that has already engulfed a prokaryote. The apicoplast retains many genes related to chloroplast DNA, indicating its evolutionary history and functional similarities to chloroplasts.
Secondary Endosymbiosis
Secondary endosymbiosis is an evolutionary process where a eukaryotic cell engulfs another eukaryotic cell that contains a primary endosymbiont, such as a chloroplast. This process leads to the formation of complex organelles like the apicoplast in Plasmodium. It explains the presence of chloroplast-related genes in apicoplasts, highlighting the evolutionary link between these organelles and chloroplasts.
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02:37
Secondary Endosymbiosis Led to Several Eukaryotic Lineages
Glyphosate and Chloroplasts
Glyphosate is a herbicide that targets an enzyme involved in the shikimate pathway, which is crucial for the synthesis of aromatic amino acids in chloroplasts. Since apicoplasts in Plasmodium share similarities with chloroplasts, researchers hypothesize that glyphosate could disrupt the apicoplast's function, potentially serving as an antimalarial treatment. This connection is based on the shared biochemical pathways between chloroplasts and apicoplasts.
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03:16Chloroplasts
Related Practice
Textbook Question
Why was finding a close relationship between mitochondrial DNA and bacterial DNA considered particularly strong evidence in favor of the endosymbiosis theory?
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Textbook Question
The text claims that the evolutionary history of protists can be understood as a series of morphological innovations that established seven distinct lineages, each of which subsequently diversified based on innovative ways of feeding, moving, and reproducing. Explain how the Alveolata support this claim.
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Textbook Question
Suppose a friend says that we don't need to worry about the rising temperatures associated with global climate change. She claims that increased temperatures will make planktonic algae grow faster and that carbon dioxide (CO2) will be removed from the atmosphere faster. According to her, this carbon will be buried at the bottom of the ocean in calcium carbonate shells. As a result, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will decrease and global warming will decline. Comment.
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Textbook Question
When placed at the perimeter of a maze with food in the center, the plasmodial slime mold Physarum polycephalum explores the maze, retracts branches from dead-end corridors, and then grows exclusively along the shortest path possible to the food. How does Physarum do this? One theory is that it leaves behind slime deposits—an externalized 'memory' that 'reminds' it not to retry dead ends. Which of the following best describes movement in Physarum?
a. Cilia propel the slime mold.
b. Flagella propel the slime mold.
c. The slime mold moves by amoeboid motion.
d. The slime mold moves by gliding motility.
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Textbook Question
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When placed at the perimeter of a maze with food in the center, the plasmodial slime mold Physarum polycephalum explores the maze, retracts branches from dead-end corridors, and then grows exclusively along the shortest path possible to the food. How does Physarum do this? One theory is that it leaves behind slime deposits—an externalized 'memory' that 'reminds' it not to retry dead ends.
Physarum is a plasmodial slime mold, whereas Dictyostelum is a cellular slime mold. Compare and contrast movement by the migrating slug stage of Dictyostelium to the plasmodial stage of Physarum.
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