Understanding the evolution of eukaryotic cellular complexity is one of the grand challenges
of modern biology. It has now been firmly established that mitochondria and plastids, the …

The protonation state of soluble and membrane-associated macromolecules dictates their
charge, conformation, and functional activity. In addition, protons (H+ or their equivalents) …

INTRODUCTION Bacteria are the most diverse and abundant cellular organisms on Earth,
and in recent years environmental genomics has revealed the existence of an enormous …

The nature of the last universal common ancestor (LUCA), its age and its impact on the Earth
system have been the subject of vigorous debate across diverse disciplines, often based on …

Hypotheses about the origin of eukaryotic cells are classically framed within the context of a
universal 'tree of life'based on conserved core genes. Vigorous ongoing debate about …

The important life-supporting role of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has evolved from bacteria to
plants, invertebrates, vertebrates, and finally to mammals. Over the centuries, however, H2S …

The discovery of the Archaea and the proposal of the three-domains 'universal'tree, based
on ribosomal RNA and core genes mainly involved in protein translation, catalysed new …

In order to extract the maximum amount of information from the rapidly accumulating
genome sequences, all conserved genes need to be classified according to their …

All cells contain much more potassium, phosphate, and transition metals than modern (or
reconstructed primeval) oceans, lakes, or rivers. Cells maintain ion gradients by using …

From comparative analyses of the nucleotide sequences of genes encoding ribosomal
RNAs and several proteins, molecular phylogeneticists have constructed a “universal tree of …