WASHINGTON : Fossil remains of a cell membrane component identified in rocks dating back about 1.6 billion years are opening a window into what scientists are calling a 'lost world' of microscopic organisms that were the primordial forerunners of Earth's fungi, algae, plants and animals - including people.
WASHINGTON : Fossil remains of a cell membrane component identified in rocks dating back about 1.6 billion years are opening a window into what scientists are calling a"lost world" of microscopic organisms that were the primordial forerunners of Earth's fungi, algae, plants and animals - including people.
They were gate-crashers in a world teeming with bacteria, simpler unicellular organisms lacking a nucleus. Eukaryotes today include fungi, algae, plants and animals, but none of those had yet evolved. There are some"body" fossils of primitive eukaryotes dating back more than 1.6 billion years, but their scarcity compared to the plentiful bacterial remains from that time had suggested they were bit players in a larger drama. The researchers discovered that the molecular fossils indicating the presence of these primitive eukaryotes were commonplace in rocks spanning from about 1.6 billion years ago to 800 million years ago.
When the primitive eukaryotes existed, Earth's land expanses were barren rock, while large parts of the seafloor were blanketed in thick microbial mats and ocean waters experienced incursions of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas smelling like rotten eggs.
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