Last universal common ancestor

[no-one-particular]

LUCA. The whole thing is 150 nm across. Central column is 35 nm across. Lived about 3.5 billion years ago. Before oxygen atmosphere. Originally each of the flattened sacs was a separate free living organism. The flagellum is used as a light harvesting antenna.

 

[pood]

Could you perhaps do some explanatory text with this?

 

[no-one-particular]

Could you perhaps so some explanatory text with this?

I'm not sure what I can say that isn't self evident. Everything is labeled pretty clearly

 

[no-one-particular]

The thing below lived a billion years later and is 1000 nm across (bacteria-sized) and is basically a colony of LUCAs. The smallest circles correspond to proteins or small protein clusters. The 8 red circles in the center together are 35 nm across and corresponds to the central column up above but viewed from above rather than from the side. These are surrounded by 16 H1 histone proteins. These are surrounded by eight splicosomes. Which are surrounded by 16 ribosomes (white).

Surrounding that are eight large clusters of microtubules (in the green region) which will eventually all evolve into a single centriole.

Myosin "quadrupeds" are using seeds as paddles to move the organism through the water. Also shown: Type III secretion system and S-layer.

This is one thin slice through the very long "tree". The whole tree is just a stack of many more or less identical slices.

 

[pood]

OK. So what are we discussing here?