COG3

The origin of the eukaryote cell

Eukaryotes have a fundamentally different cell
structure from bacteria and archaea, and possibly
evolved from the latter. This possibility: an archaeal
origin of eukaryotes has been a bit of a distraction in
that it has led to models that try and explain
eukaryote origins from modern archaea lacking any
eukaryotic features. In this talk I will summarise what
we know about eukaryote origins, and argue that
ways of thinking now more common in
palaeontology can help us to understand eukaryote
origins. By focusing on known biological processes,
and ecological drivers, key events in the origin of
eukaryotes can be understood without needing to
appeal to special or rare events.