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The last universal common ancestor between ancient Earth chemistry and the onset of genetics.

ABSTRACT: All known life forms trace back to a last universal common ancestor (LUCA) that witnessed the onset of Darwinian evolution. One can ask questions about LUCA in various ways, the most common way being to look for traits that are common to all cells, like ribosomes or the genetic code. With the availability of genomes, we can, however, also ask what genes are ancient by virtue of their phylogeny rather than by virtue of being universal. That approach, undertaken recently, leads to a different view of LUCA than we have had in the past, one that fits well with the harsh geochemical setting of early Earth and resembles the biology of prokaryotes that today inhabit the Earth's crust.

SUBMITTER: Weiss MC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6095482 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The last universal common ancestor between ancient Earth chemistry and the onset of genetics.

Weiss Madeline C MC Preiner Martina M Xavier Joana C JC Zimorski Verena V Martin William F WF

PLoS genetics 20180816 8

All known life forms trace back to a last universal common ancestor (LUCA) that witnessed the onset of Darwinian evolution. One can ask questions about LUCA in various ways, the most common way being to look for traits that are common to all cells, like ribosomes or the genetic code. With the availability of genomes, we can, however, also ask what genes are ancient by virtue of their phylogeny rather than by virtue of being universal. That approach, undertaken recently, leads to a different view ...[more]

PMID: 30114187

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