How these strange cells may explain the origin of complex life

R.B. Pedersen et al. Discovery of a black smoker vent field and vent fauna at the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge. Nature Communications Vol. 1, 126. November 23, 2010. doi:10.1038/ncomms1124

A. Spang et al. Complex archaea that bridge the gap between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Nature Vol. 521. May 6, 2015, p. 173–179. doi:10.1038/nature14447

K.V. Kowallik and W.F. Martin. The origin of symbiogenesis: An annotated English translation of Mereschkowsky’s 1910 paper on the theory of two plasma lineages. Biosystems Vol. 199. December 19, 2020. doi: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2020.104281

L. Sagan. On the origin of mitosing cells. Journal of Theoretical Biology, Vol. 14. March 1967, p. 225-274. doi:10.1016/0022-5193(67)90079-3

K. Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka et al. Asgard archaea illuminate the origin of eukaryotic cellular complexity. Nature Vol. 541. January 11, 2017, p. 353–358. doi:10.1038/nature21031

T.A. Williams et al. Phylogenomics provides robust support for a two-domains tree of life. Nature Ecology & Evolution Vol. 4. December 9, 2019, p. 138–147. doi:10.1038/s41559-019-1040-x

H. Imachi et al. Isolation of an archaeon at the prokaryote–eukaryote interface. Nature Vol. 577. January 15, 2020, p. 519–525. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1916-6

T. Rodrigues-Oliveira et al. Actin cytoskeleton and complex cell architecture in an Asgard archaeon. Nature Vol. 613. December 21, 2022, p. 332–339. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05550-y

B. Avcı et al. Spatial separation of ribosomes and DNA in Asgard archaeal cells. The ISME Journal, Vol. 16. August 31, 2021, p. 606-610. doi:10.1038/s41396-021-01098-3

H. Imachi et al. Eukaryotes’ closest relatives are internally simple syntrophic archaea. biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.26.640444v1. Posted February 26, 2025.

B. Avcı et al. Peculiar morphology of Asgard archaeal cells close to the prokaryote-eukaryote boundary. mBio Vol. 16. April 16, 2025. doi:10.1128/mbio.00327-25

L. Eme et al. Inference and reconstruction of the heimdallarchaeial ancestry of eukaryotes. Nature Vol. 618. June 14, 2023, p. 992–999. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06186-2

D.B. Mills et al. A reassessment of the “hard-steps” model for the evolution of intelligent life. Science Advances Vol. 11. February 14, 2025. doi:10.1126/sciadv.ads5698

Comments (0)
Add Comment