Eukaryogenesis From FECA to LECA: Radical Steps Along the Way
Year: 2025
Type: review
Abstract: The characteristics of the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA) population and the root of the eukaryotic tree have been coming into focus lately. However, the trajectory taking the host, related to present-day Asgard archaea and the endosymbiont, related to present-day alphaproteobacteria, toward such fully integrated and complex organisms is still unclear. Here I marshal recent evidence supporting the early arrival of the "mitochondrion-to-be", setting up the evolutionary dynamic for a series of mutual adaptations leading to eukaryotes. Upon critical analysis of some presuppositions in phylogenomic reconstructions of eukaryogenesis, I again propose that pre-symbiosis, efficient ATP generation, internal reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and enhanced retention of genes supplied by horizontal gene transfer (HGT) interdependently allowed this unique transformation to occur.
Source: BioEssays
DOI: 10.1002/bies.70063
Author: Dave Speijer
Institution: Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,330
OpenAlex ID: W4414675617