The Logic of Chance: The Nature and Origin of Biological Evolution

11. The Last Universal Common Ancestor, the origin of cells, and the primordial gene pool

In the preceding chapters, we addressed the fundamental aspects of the evolution of prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and outlined the ancient Virus World. This lays the groundwork for the discussion of the crucial transition in the evolution of life, the origin of cellular organization and of different types of cells. As Darwin first presciently proposed (Darwin, 1859) and comparative genomics amply vindicated, all extant cells evolved from a common ancestor that has become known as LUCA, after Last Universal Common Ancestor (of cellular life). However, no consensus exists on the nature of the LUCA and the degree to which it resembled modern cells. Arguments ...