Justine J.

Prudente 3-BsBio-A 09-15-20

“Reaction Paper on the Mind Gaps of Cellular Evolution”

The article mainly tackles on gaps in the cellular family tree specifically
between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In about 1.8 MYA eukaryotes evolved from
prokaryotes, and a newly identified prokaryotic group reveals intermediate steps in
eukaryotic-cell evolution. Eukaryotic cells are membrane bounded organelles and a
bit complex than prokaryotic cells. The authors Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka et al.
identified a superphylum branch of the prokaryotic family tree which contains some
genes previously thought to be eukaryote-specific. For the basis of their gene
contents and their cellular structures there are two domains prokaryotes are
classified into, the Archaea and Bacteria. LUCA or “Last Universal Common
Ancestor” is known as their common ancestor.

Eukaryotes were believed to be derived from a merger that occurred when an

archaeal cell engulfed a bacterial cell related to modern alphaproteobacterial. Still
the early events in eukaryotic evolution badly understood, there were only few
species identified which their genome content could provide understanding in the
transition of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.the archaea that has been identified as
the most closely related ancestors of eukaryotic cells come from the group known as
the “Lokiarchaeota”.Lokiarchaeota was identified through genome sequencing of
organisms found in deep-sea sediments. It contains features that were previously
thought to be eukaryote specific, including several genes distantly related to those
involved in eukaryotic protein transport. But to closely understand the transition from
prokaryotic to eukaryotic cellular life, a more complete picture is needed of the genes
present in the archaeal cells that gave rise to eukaryotes. The DNA encoding 16S
ribosomal RNA sequences is often used to identify the genetic relationships
(phylogeny) between species. 25 years ago, revealed a the presence of archaeal
groups related only distantly to the known archaea cultured in a laboratories, such
DNA was obtained from seawater organisms. ZarembaNiedzwiedzka et al. also
conducted samples of aquatic sediments from 7 locations worldwide, they
investigated samples from underwater organisms. The results revealed that the
major groups of life can still be discovered They extracted short fragments of DNA,
representing a mixture of the species present, and sequenced more than 644 billion
nucleotides. The short fragments of sequence were assembled into longer pieces,
and sequences containing at least six genes from an evolutionarily conserved
ribosomal-protein gene cluster were identified. These were analyzed to determine
the taxonomic relationships of the sampled genomes.

The researchers identified sequences that were similar to the previously

sequenced “Lokiarchaeota” and “Thorarchaota”. They used a statistical method to
classify ribosomal sequences based on similarities in the patterns of nucleotides
used. From their analysis, they identified a superphylum of Archaea containing 4
major lineages of genetic material. The “Lokiarchaeota”, “Thorarchaeota”,
“Odinarchaeota”, “Heimdallchaeota” which the author named “Superphylum Asgard”.
The groupings in the superphylum asgard is hard to contemplate because of their
statistical uncertainty in the phylogenetics trees that created. But their existence is
supported by the analysis of superphylum as a whole. Members of asgard groups
position in the cellular life suggest that they form the closest known archaeal sister
lineage to eukaryotes. The three-domains hypothesis, which suggests that
eukaryotes arose independently of bacterial or archaeal diversification, has fallen is
still a consistent discovery. Eukaryotes arose through a merger of cells from within
Archaea and Bacteria was also added as a body of evidence by the authors. The
authors found several eukaryoticlike genes that function in protein transport,
signalling and protein degradation and that were previously reported to be present in
Lokiarchaeota. The asgard members are certainly not eukaryotes whish their work
also revealed, yet they possess a type of gene that until now, were thought only to
have originated early in eukaryotic evolution. 1.8 BYA the most recent common
cellular ancestor of asgard and eukaryotic cell existed, so these genes have evolved
independently over a total of 3.6 BY.

No individual archaeal group seem to have full set of genes stated in the article.
Although eukaryotes commonly need all these types of genes, asgard members do
not. Asgard member has not yet been observed under a microscope and no
laboratory culture reports were yet made. For that reason, details about their
ecology, evolution and cell biology still remains uncovered. There is still more
investigation needs to be done for it to be fully identified and truly know their
compositions and hoe they were created. That is why there is a gap in the cellular
family tree specifically between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. For this study identified
that eukaryotes evolved mainly from prokaryotes and explains how they have
change on the cellular level.