Genes trace weird ancestor of all life

摘要

Want to find some ancient fossils? Scratch yourself. Many of the genes in our cells evolved billions of years ago and a few of them can be traced back to the last common ancestor of all life. Now we have the best picture yet of what that ancestor was like and where it lived, thanks to a study that identified 355 genes that it probably possessed. "It was flabbergasting to us that we found as many as we did," says William Martin at the University of Diisseldorf in Germany. This supports the idea that the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) lurked in hydrothermal vents where hot water rich in hydrogen, carbon dioxide and minerals emerge from the sea floor.