5.2 Module 5.3: eukaryotic origins

The fossil record and genetic evidence suggest that prokaryotic cells were the first organisms on Earth. These cells originated approximately 3.5 billion years ago, which was about 1 billion years after Earth’s formation, and were the only life forms on the planet until eukaryotic cells emerged approximately 2.1 billion years ago. During the prokaryotic reign, photosynthetic prokaryotes evolved that were capable of applying the energy from sunlight to synthesize organic materials (like carbohydrates) from carbon dioxide and an electron source (such as hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, or water).

Photosynthesis using water as an electron donor consumes carbon dioxide and releases molecular oxygen (O ₂ ) as a byproduct. The functioning of photosynthetic bacteria over millions of years progressively saturated Earth’s water with oxygen and then oxygenated the atmosphere, which previously contained much greater concentrations of carbon dioxide and much lower concentrations of oxygen. Older anaerobic prokaryotes of the era could not function in their new, aerobic environment. Some species perished, while others survived in the remaining anaerobic environments left on Earth. Still other early prokaryotes evolved mechanisms, such as aerobic respiration, to exploit the oxygenated atmosphere by using oxygen to store energy contained within organic molecules. Aerobic respiration is a more efficient way of obtaining energy from organic molecules, which contributed to the success of these species (as evidenced by the number and diversity of aerobic organisms living on Earth today). The evolution of aerobic prokaryotes was an important step toward the evolution of the first eukaryote, but several other distinguishing features had to evolve as well.

Endosymbiosis

The origin of eukaryotic cells was largely a mystery until a revolutionary hypothesis was comprehensively examined in the 1960s by Lynn Margulis. The endosymbiotic theory states that eukaryotes are a product of one prokaryotic cell engulfing another, one living within another, and evolving together over time until the separate cells were no longer recognizable as such. This once-revolutionary hypothesis had immediate persuasiveness and is now widely accepted, with work progressing on uncovering the steps involved in this evolutionary process as well as the key players. It has become clear that many nuclear eukaryotic genes and the molecular machinery responsible for replicating and expressing those genes appear closely related to the Archaea. On the other hand, the metabolic organelles and the genes responsible for many energy-harvesting processes had their origins in bacteria. Much remains to be clarified about how this relationship occurred; this continues to be an exciting field of discovery in biology. Several endosymbiotic events likely contributed to the origin of the eukaryotic cell.