Experimental Pathways The Origin of Eukaryotic Cells

EXPERIMENTAL
PATHWAYS
The Origin of Eukaryotic Cells
E E D TH A T
AL LY AG R O RE
AS G EN ER R O SE B EF
IT W C C EL LS A VE G AVE
R YO T I TH EY H A
PROKA IC CELLS AND IC CELLS.
AR YO T K A RY O T
EUK T H E EU
RISE TO
The thought behind this theory is that
over time, the simple prokaryotic cells
evolved to have more complex organelles
that the resulted to more complex
organisms.
Until the 1970's it was believed that eukaryotic cells was a
product of evolution from prokaryotic cell, then Lynn
Margulis, of the Boston University came into the picture.
Margulis resurrected an idea that had been proposed
earlier, and dismissed, that certain organelles of a
eukaryotic cell—most notably the mitochondria and
chloroplasts—had evolved from smaller prokaryotic cells
that had taken up residence in the cytoplasm of a larger
host cell.
Endosymbiont Theory describes
how a single “composite” cell of
greater complexity could evolve
from two or more separate,
simpler cells living in a symbiotic
relationship with one another.
Our earliest prokaryotic ancestors were presumed
to have been anaerobic heterotrophic cells:
anaerobic meaning they derived their energy from
food matter without employing molecular oxygen
(O2), and heterotrophic meaning they were unable
to synthesize organic compounds from inorganic
precursors (such as CO2 and water), but instead
had to obtain preformed organic compounds from
their environment.
The development of internal membranes produced the first organism that
would be considered eukaryote-like in terms of having a nucleus or other
internal compartments. Because this is the first organism that
subsequently gave rise to all eukaryotes, it is known as the first eukaryotic
common ancestor (FECA).
According to the endosymbiont theory, the
next step in the evolution of modern
eukaryotes was when a descendant of the
FECA cell ingested a small, aerobic
prokaryote which somehow resisted
digestion within the cytoplasm, taking up
residence as a permanent endosymbiont.

From there, ancestor cells continued reproducing with their endosymbiont.
Soon, these ancestor cells evolved and had more endosymbionts, which then
led to us having ancestor cells capable of photosynthesis. The concept that
mitochondria and chloroplasts arose via evolution from symbiotic
organisms is now supported by an overwhelming body of evidence
Over many generations, endosymbionts lost
many of the traits no longer required for
survival, and the once independent oxygen-
respiring microbes evolved into precursors of
modern-day mitochondria. A cell with ancestors
that had formed through the sequence of
symbiotic events just described could have given
rise to a line of cells which evolved other basic
characteristics of eukaryotic cells, including
additional internal organelles (endoplasmic
reticulum, Golgi complex, lysosomes), a complex
cytoskeleton including cilia, intron splicing, and
both mitotic and meiotic cell division.
All eukaryotes alive today descended from the cell that
acquired these traits, and it is therefore known as the
last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA). Current
research on evolutionary cell biology is focused on
reconstructing the molecular, structural, and functional
features of the FECA and LECA by comparing features of
existing eukaryotic and prokaryotic lineages.
Yet the division of all living organisms into two

categories, prokaryotes and eukaryotes, reflects a basic
dichotomy in the structures of cells, but it is not
necessarily an accurate phylogenetic distinction, that is,
one that reflects the evolutionary relationships among
living organisms.
In the mid-1970s, Carl Woese and his
colleagues at the University of Illinois
began a series of studies comparing the
nucleotide sequence in different organisms
of the RNA molecule that resides in the
small subunit of the ribosome.
Then in 1977, Woese and George Fox published
a landmark paper in the study of molecular
evolution. Their paper included a detailed
description of how a archaebacterium, not a
Urkaryote, that took in a eubacterium as a
symbiont and gave rise to the lineage that led
to the first eukaryotic cells.

Some say that the depiction of Woese and Fox is
oversimplified, as they only had the examination of
the the 16S rRNA in prokaryotes or the 18S rRNA in
eukaryotes as their foundation
CLASS PROCEDURES
At the end of the day, there are still a lot for
us to figure out within the filed of
eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, just like
the genomic similarities brought by their
similar environment. Given these various
routes of gene acquisition, it is evident that
no simple phylogenetic tree, can represent
the evolutionary history of the entire
genome of an organism.
KHOB KHUN
KRUB
Kim Collantes

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EXPERIMENTAL

how a single “composite” cell of

greater complexity could evolve

from two or more separate,

simpler cells living in a symbiotic

relationship with one another.

Our earliest prokaryotic ancestors were presumed

to have been anaerobic heterotrophic cells:

anaerobic meaning they derived their energy from

food matter without employing molecular oxygen

(O2), and heterotrophic meaning they were unable

to synthesize organic compounds from inorganic

precursors (such as CO2 and water), but instead

had to obtain preformed organic compounds from

next step in the evolution of modern

eukaryotes was when a descendant of the

FECA cell ingested a small, aerobic

prokaryote which somehow resisted

digestion within the cytoplasm, taking up

residence as a permanent endosymbiont.

Yet the division of all living organisms into two

colleagues at the University of Illinois

began a series of studies comparing the

nucleotide sequence in different organisms

of the RNA molecule that resides in the

small subunit of the ribosome.

Then in 1977, Woese and George Fox published

a landmark paper in the study of molecular

evolution. Their paper included a detailed

description of how a archaebacterium, not a

Urkaryote, that took in a eubacterium as a

symbiont and gave rise to the lineage that led

to the first eukaryotic cells.

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