Early evolution of the Eukaryota

2014/11/26 by Nicholas J. Butterfield · 209 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Archean #Biology #Context (archaeology) #Crown (dentistry) #Ecology #Evolutionary biology #Gene #Genetics #Geography #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Group (periodic table) #Paleontology #Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils #Phylogenetic tree #Phylogenetics #Protist diversity and phylogeny

paper · doi:10.1111/pala.12139

published in Palaeontology 58(1), 5-17 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2014/11/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22

Abstract

Abstract The evolution of eukaryotes represents one of the most fundamental transitions in the history of life on Earth; however, there is little consensus as to when or over what timescale it occurred. Review of recent hypotheses and data in a phylogenetic context yields a broadly coherent account. Critical re‐assessment of the palaeontological record provides convincing evidence for the presence of crown‐group eukaryotes in the late Palaeoproterozic, and stem‐group eukaryotes extending back to the early Archaean. Despite their relatively early establishment, crown‐eukaryotes appear not to have become ecologically significant until the middle Neoproterozoic. I argue that this billion‐year delay was due to the singular, contingent evolution of crown‐group animals and their unique capacity to drive co‐evolutionary change.

Citations

• Symbiosis Between Methanogenic Archaea and δ-Proteobacteria as the Origin of Eukaryotes: The Syntrophic Hypothesis

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