Trans. Merkel,(S) & Coalson,(R) [from the 1979 Soviet edition], English edition ed. Margulis,(L). Symbiogenesis, a term first coined by the Russian botanist K.S. Merezhkovsky in the late 19th c, is the evolution of new life forms from the physical union of different, once-independent partners. This book traces the development of the concept in Russian and Soviet scientific literature, with additional US material edited by Lynn Margulis.