Historical perspective on Chlamydomonas as a model for basic research: 1950-1970

During the period 1950-1970, groundbreaking research on the genetic mapping of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and the use of mutant strains to analyze photosynthesis was conducted in the laboratory of R. Paul Levine at Harvard University. An account of this era, based in part on interviews with Levine, is presented. Significance Statement Research on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was launched during the 1950-1970 period, and many key future investigators were trained in the Levine lab. Important insights into the sequence of the photosynthetic electron transport chain were also obtained.