Article ID: CBB000501159

Symbiogenesis: The Hidden Face of Constantin Merezhkowsky (2002)

unapi

Constantin Merezhkowsky is celebrated today for his theory of symbiogenesis, postulated in the early decades of the twentieth century, particularly that chloroplasts were symbiotic cyanophytes (cyanobacteria). While biologists point singularly to what they see as his heroic achievement, its neglect and subsequent rediscovery, we introduce a broader and much more complex perspective on his science, his troubled life and career. We present a view of Merezhkowsky as zoologist, anthropologist, botanist, philosopher, and novelist. We explain the genesis of his theory of the origin of chloroplasts and of nucleus and cytoplasm as symbionts, as well as his depiction of the geo-chemical context of the origins and early evolution of life on earth. We also disclose his sordid social and political activities, his eugenics and racist writings, his paedophilia, and his metaphysics. Finally, we describe the context of his elaborate suicide in 1921.

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Description On the professional and private life of this 19th-century polymathic thinker.


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB000501159/

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Authors & Contributors
Strick, James E.
Bill Mesler
Cleaves, H. James, II
Adriana Giannini
Bourrat, Pierrick
Juan Manuel Rodríguez-Caso
Concepts
Evolution
Biogenesis; origin of life; spontaneous generation
Biology
Symbiosis
Science and religion
Philosophy of biology
Time Periods
20th century
19th century
18th century
21st century
20th century, early
Places
Great Britain
Italy
France
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