Last universal ancestor

The last universal ancestor (LUA), also called the last universal common ancestor (LUCA), or the cenancestor, is the most recent organism from which all organisms now living on Earth descend.^[1] Thus it is the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all current life on Earth. The LUA is estimated to have lived some 3.5 to 3.8 billion years ago (sometime in the Paleoarchean era).^[2][3]

Charles Darwin proposed the theory of universal common descent through an evolutionary process in his book On the Origin of Species, saying, "Therefore I should infer from analogy that probably all the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from some one primordial form, into which life was first breathed."^[5]

Features

Based on the properties currently shared by all independently living organisms on Earth,^[6][7][8][9] it is possible to deduce the defining features of the LUCA.

• The genetic code was based on DNA.
  • The DNA was composed of four nucleotides (deoxyadenosine, deoxycytidine, deoxythymidine and deoxyguanosine), to the exclusion of other possible deoxynucleotides.
  • The genetic code was composed of three-nucleotide codons, thus producing 64 different codons. Since only 20 amino acids were used, multiple codons code for the same amino acids.
  • The DNA was kept double-stranded by a template-dependent DNA polymerase.
  • The integrity of the DNA was maintained by a group of maintenance enzymes, including DNA topoisomerase, DNA ligase and other DNA repair enzymes. The DNA was also protected by DNA-binding proteins such as histones.
• The genetic code was expressed via RNA intermediates, which were single-stranded.
  • RNA was produced by a DNA-dependent RNA polymerase using nucleotides similar to those of DNA with the exception of thymidine in DNA was replaced by uridine in RNA.
• The genetic code was expressed into proteins.
• All other properties of the organism were the result of protein functions.
• Proteins were assembled from free amino acids by translation of an mRNA by ribosomes, tRNA and a group of related proteins.
  • Ribosomes were composed of two subunits, one big and one small.
  • Each ribosomal subunit was composed of a core of ribosomal RNA surrounded by ribosomal proteins.
  • The RNA molecules (rRNA and tRNA) played an important role in the catalytic activity of the ribosomes.
  • Only 20 amino acids were used, to the exclusion of countless non-standard amino acids.
  • Only the L-isomers of the amino acids were used.
• Glucose could be used as a source of energy and carbon; only the D-isomer was used.
• ATP was used as an energy intermediate.
• There were several hundred protein enzymes which catalyze chemical reactions that extract energy from fats, sugars, and amino acids, and that synthesize fats, sugars, amino acids, and nucleic acid bases using arbitrary chemical pathways.
• The cell contained a water-based cytoplasm that was surrounded and effectively enclosed by a lipid bilayer membrane.
• Inside the cell, the concentration of sodium was lower, and potassium was higher, than outside. This gradient was maintained by specific ion pumps.
• The cell multiplied by duplicating all its contents followed by cellular division.

Hypotheses

In 1859, Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species in which he twice stated the hypothesis that there was only one progenitor for all life forms. In the summation at the end he says, "Therefore I should infer from analogy that probably all the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from some one primordial form, into which life was first breathed."^[5] (p 484). The very last sentence is a restatement of the hypothesis: "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one."^[5] (p 490)

When LUA was hypothesized, cladograms based on genetic distance between living cells indicated that Archaea split early from the rest of life. This was inferred from the fact that all known archaeans were highly resistant to environmental extremes such as high salinity, temperature or acidity, and led some scientists to suggest that LUA evolved in areas like the deep ocean vents, where such extremes prevail today. But archaeans were discovered in less hostile environments and are now believed by many taxonomists to be more closely related to eukaryotes than bacteria, though this is still somewhat contentious.

In 1998, Carl Woese proposed (1) that no individual organism can be considered a LUA, and (2) that the genetic heritage of all modern organisms derived through horizontal gene transfer among an ancient community of organisms.^[10] In 2010, based on "the vast array of molecular sequences now available from all domains of life",^[11] a formal test of univesrsal common ancestry was published.^[12] The formal test favored the existence of a universal common ancestor over a wide class of alternative hypotheses which included horizontal gene transfer. However, the formal test was ambiguous with respect to the community of organisms hypothesis, since it did not require that the last universal common ancestor be single organism, but allowed it to be a population of organisms with different genotypes that lived in different places and times. The formal test was also consistent with multiple populations with independent origins gaining the ability to exchange essential genetic material to effectively become one species. ^[12]

Location of the root

The most commonly accepted location of the root of the tree of life is between a monophyletic domain Bacteria and a clade formed by Archaea and Eukaryota of what is referred to as the "traditional tree of life" based on several molecular studies starting with C. Woese.^[13] A very small minority of studies have concluded differently, namely that the root is in the Domain Bacteria, either in the phylum Firmicutes^[14] or that the phylum Chloroflexi is basal to a clade with Archaea+Eukaryotes and the rest of Bacteria as proposed by Thomas Cavalier-Smith.^[15]

See also

• Timeline of evolution
• Common descent
• Abiogenesis
• Cell (biology)#Origin of the first cell
• Most recent common ancestor
• Bacterial phyla

References