How Life Began: Evolution's Three Geneses

291 Pages·2008·4.38 MB·English

by  Alexandre Meinesz

HowLifeBegan

How Life Began
Evolution’s Three Geneses
Alexandre Meinesz
TranslatedbyDanielSimberloff
TheUniversityofChicagoPress
ChicagoandLondon
AlexandreMeineszisprofessorattheUniversityofNice–SophiaAntipolis.Heisthe
authorofmorethan200articlesandseveralbooks,includingKillerAlgae,alsopublished
bytheUniversityofChicagoPress.
DanielSimberloffistheNancyGoreHungerProfessorofEnvironmentalStudiesatthe
UniversityofTennessee.HehaswrittenseveralhundredarticlesandcoeditedStrangersin
Paradise:ImpactandManagementofNonindigenousspeciesinFlorida(IslandPress,1997).
TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Chicago60637
TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Ltd.,London
(cid:1)C 2008byTheUniversityofChicago
Allrightsreserved.Published2008
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN-13:978-0-226-51931-9 (cloth)
ISBN-10:0-226-51931-7 (cloth)
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Meinesz,Alexandre.
Howlifebegan:evolution’sthreegeneses/AlexandreMeinesz;translatedbyDaniel
Simberloff.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13:978-0-226-51931-9(cloth:alk.paper)
ISBN-10:0-226-51931-7(cloth:alk.paper) 1.Life—Origin. I.Title.
QH325.M36 2008
576.8(cid:2)3—dc22
2007035929
(cid:1)∞ThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsoftheAmerican
NationalStandardforInformationSciences—PermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Materials,ANSIZ39.48-1992.
CONTENTS
...............................................................
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
Chapter1 Henri’sCave 5
Chapter2 OntheOriginofLifeonEarth 23
Chapter3 Papa,What’saBacterium? 50
Chapter4 TheVampireSlugoftheKillerAlga 66
Chapter5 VermeerandVanLeeuwenhoek 96
Chapter6 TheDensimeter 121
Chapter7 TheLegoGame 142
Chapter8 Candide,JurassicPark,andNoah 172
Chapter9 TheEndoftheEvolutionaryString 197
Epilogue 227
Notes 235
Index 279

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
...............................................................
Itwasin1998thataminibuspickedmeupinfrontofahotelinSeattle
andtookmeandtheotherparticipantstoanecologyseminarhighupin
the wooded hills of Washington State. I knew none of the others, and I
foundmyselfsittingbetweentwoseniorAmericanresearcherswhowere
discussingwhatseemedtome,aEuropean,tobeanoddsubject.Theywere
comparing their scores for the number of countries, states, and counties
theyhadvisitedduringtheiruniversitycareers.Ikeptquietandtalliedin
mymindmyfeeblescorecomparedtothoseofthesegreattravelers.Iwas
even more surprised at their arguments regarding the ranking, debated
with real passion, of certain countries or counties that were difficult to
accessorwereoutofthewayforthesegreatconferencegoers.Oneofthese
scientificglobetrotterswasDanielSimberloff.Itwasonlyaftermylecture
thatDancametoseemeand,inremarkablygoodFrench,begantoexpress
interest in my research and my publications. That was the beginning of
a long and amiable collaboration. He painstakingly translated my first
book describing my battle to gain recognition of the harmfulness of an
introduced invasive alga. It is the publication of this present work that
marksthehighpointofourcollaboration.Manypeoplehaveplayedapart
inputtingthefinaltouchestothisbookandhavebeeninvolvedinthelong
processofpreparation,butallthesefriendsareawarethatthisworkcould
nothaveseenthelightofdaywithoutthecommitment,enthusiasm,and
unfailinghelpofDanielSimberloff,whotranslatedthetext.Itistohim
thatIowethegreatestdebtofgratitude.
Iwouldlike,too,tomentionmydaughter,MarjorieMeinesz,towhom
Iamindebtedforthefaithfulandmeticulouspresentationofmydrawings
vii
viii Acknowledgments
that illustrate the book. Finally, I would also like to acknowledge in
particular the work of my editor, Christie Henry, who encouraged me
unstintingly and was able to bring the work to fruition thanks to the
perspicacity of the excellent reviewers, who remain anonymous to me,
whomsheselected,andtowhomIamalsoverygrateful.
INTRODUCTION
...............................................................
Thepaintingissmallanddark,butfamous.Itisoneofthe30orsoknown
paintings of Johannes Vermeer. The subject is unusual: an astronomer
contemplatingaglobeoftheheavens.Theastronomerisalmostcertainly
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, a scientist who lived in Delft, Holland, in
theseventeenthcentury.Atvarioustimesheworkedintheclothtrade,
measured out wine, and administered estates; he wasa bailiff,surveyor,
andastronomer.Butheisbestknownforperfectingandusinganexcellent
smallmicroscope.Hewasthefirsttoseemicroscopiclife,organismsnot
visibletothenakedeye.Forthefirsttime,amancouldseemicroorganisms
swarming in water, spermatozoa in sperm, red blood cells. At a stroke,
lifetookonanewdimension.
Sincethen,manyofthemysteriesoflifeanditsoriginshavebeeneluci-
datedwithincreasinglyabstractdimensions.Theaccumulationofdiscov-
eriesisdizzying.Eachspecialistdelvesmoredeeplyintohiswellofexpert
knowledgebutneverseesthebottom.Intheprocess,heforgetsmuchof
whatliesaboveandsurroundshisspecialty.Thisiswhypopularmediatell
us, in disordered, intermittent fashion, about multiple discoveries made
inthediversedisciplinesofthelifesciences.Buttheconnectionsbetween
thesebitsofknowledgeandtheirrelativeimportanceareblurredinour
minds.
I have tried to see this tableau clearly, and Vermeer’s painting has
helped.
IfyouvisittheLouvreinParis,goandadmirethegentlefaceofAntoni
vanLeeuwenhoeklookingattherepresentationoftheheavensonasphere.
Withonehand,hetightlygraspsatable,thematerialobjectsofthisworld.
1