The Last Universal Common Ancestor
Evidence for a last universal common ancestor
- During the evolution of life, evidence suggests that different species have evolved from a common ancestor
- These species will share some similar characteristics with their common ancestor
- For example, the bone structure of the vertebrate forelimb is similar in all species of vertebrates which indicates that they inherited this structure from a common ancestor
- DNA provides a useful tool to determine the evolutionary relationships between species
- Organisms with similar DNA sequences are more closely related than those with very different DNA sequences
- All life on Earth is thought to have evolved from an ancient common ancestor, believed to have existed about 4 billion years ago
- This organism is known as the "Last Universal Common Ancestor", or LUCA
- In a phylogenetic tree of life, LUCA would be the organism at the very base of the tree
The phylogenetic tree of life diagram
The evolutionary tree of life, indicating the evolution of life from the last universal common ancestor (shown in purple)
- Evidence for a common ancestry shared by all living organisms include:
- Same biochemistry in all organisms
- Same DNA bases and genetic code shared by organisms
- Same shared amino acids forming protein molecules in organisms
- Researchers found several genes that are shared by eubacteria and archaea, indicating that these genes were inherited from LUCA
- It is possible that other organisms may have evolved at the same time as LUCA, but became extinct due to competition for shared resources
- The descendants of LUCA would have outcompeted other species and gone on to shape the tree of life as we know it