NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  1. Content with the tag: “endosymbiosis

  2. Genome-Genome Integration: Symbiosis, genetic assimilation, and evolutionary innovation

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5, 5, 6
  3. NAI Research Reveals Major Insight into Evolution of Life on Earth


    A schematic diagram illustrating the prokaryotic ring of life. The actinobacterial genome donor, at the left (blue), and the clostridial genome donor, at the right (yellow), transfer their genomes to form the doublemembrane prokaryotes at the top of the ring (green). The protein family data identify the Actinobacteria and the Clostridia as donors, and the doublemembrane prokaryotes as the fusion organism.

    Humans might not be walking on Earth today if not for the ancient fusing of two microscopic, single-celled organisms called prokaryotes, NASA-funded research has found.

    By comparing proteins present in more than 3000 different prokaryotes – a type of single-celled organism without a nucleus – molecular biologist James A. Lake from the University of California at Los Angeles’ Center for Astrobiology showed that two major classes of relatively simple microbes fused together more than 2.5 billion years ago. Lake’s research reveals a new pathway for the evolution of life on Earth. These insights are published in the Aug....

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