Kin : how we came to know our microbe relatives / John L. Ingraham.

Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2017.

x, 292 pages : black and white illustrations ; 22 cm

Introduction -- The tree of life -- The pathway leading to the tree -- 1. The tree's microbial branches: The fungi -- The protists -- The archaea -- The bacteria -- The tree's phantom branch -- The impact of the tree's microbes -- Is the tree complete? -- Part 1. Discovering the tree of life -- 2. Relationships among organisms: Taxonomy -- A problem with bacteria -- Macromolecules hold the key -- Ribosomes -- 3. Enter DNA: Writing instructions for life -- Does ribosomal RNA have a longer reach? -- 4. The Rosetta Stone: Discovering the third domain of life -- 5. From the tree's roots to its branches: A taxonomy of bacteria and archaea -- Naming the major divisions of life -- Prokaryotes and eukaryotes -- Impact of Woese's methods -- Part 2. Doubts and complications -- 6. Genes from neighbor. DNA on the loose -- Microbial sex -- Viral transfer of genes -- 7. Can the receiving cell just say no? -- Restriction and modification -- Prokaryotic immunity -- Horizontal gene transfer among prokaryotes -- 8. Can the tree be trusted? -- Enter Lynn Margulis -- Are there other candidates? -- Are there other example? -- What threat is horizontal gene transfer to the tree of life? -- Part 3. The tree's benefits -- 9. Low-hanging ecological fruit -- The microbiome -- Distorting the microbiome of our gut -- Other impacts of the microbiome -- The gut microbiome -- Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) -- Part 4. The origin of life -- 10. The tree's beginnings -- Panspermia -- The warm little pond -- Membranes -- The RNA world -- Did life originate at the bottom of the ocean? -- The Dyson view of life's beginnings -- All in the same pond -- In the beginning remains just there.

Includes bibliographical references and index.