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Reconstructing the last common ancestor of all eukaryotes

Richards, Thomas A. ; Eme, Laura ; Archibald, John M. ; Leonard, Guy ; Coelho, Susana M. ; de Mendoza, Alex ; Dessimoz, Christophe ; Dolezal, Pavel ; Fritz-Laylin, Lillian K. and Gabaldón, Toni , et al. (2024) In PLoS Biology 22(11).
Abstract

Understanding the origin of eukaryotic cells is one of the most difficult problems in all of biology. A key challenge relevant to the question of eukaryogenesis is reconstructing the gene repertoire of the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA). As data sets grow, sketching an accurate genomics-informed picture of early eukaryotic cellular complexity requires provision of analytical resources and a commitment to data sharing. Here, we summarise progress towards understanding the biology of LECA and outline a community approach to inferring its wider gene repertoire. Once assembled, a robust LECA gene set will be a useful tool for evaluating alternative hypotheses about the origin of eukaryotes and understanding the evolution of traits... (More)

Understanding the origin of eukaryotic cells is one of the most difficult problems in all of biology. A key challenge relevant to the question of eukaryogenesis is reconstructing the gene repertoire of the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA). As data sets grow, sketching an accurate genomics-informed picture of early eukaryotic cellular complexity requires provision of analytical resources and a commitment to data sharing. Here, we summarise progress towards understanding the biology of LECA and outline a community approach to inferring its wider gene repertoire. Once assembled, a robust LECA gene set will be a useful tool for evaluating alternative hypotheses about the origin of eukaryotes and understanding the evolution of traits in all descendant lineages, with relevance in diverse fields such as cell biology, microbial ecology, biotechnology, agriculture, and medicine. In this Consensus View, we put forth the status quo and an agreed path forward to reconstruct LECA’s gene content.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
PLoS Biology
volume
22
issue
11
article number
e3002917
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85210733849
  • pmid:39585925
ISSN
1544-9173
DOI
10.1371/journal.pbio.3002917
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2024 Richards et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
id
2c9005df-50e4-4ff1-8af2-e28e5cfcec3d
date added to LUP
2024-12-15 10:30:58
date last changed
2025-05-19 02:06:22
@article{2c9005df-50e4-4ff1-8af2-e28e5cfcec3d,
  abstract     = {{<p>Understanding the origin of eukaryotic cells is one of the most difficult problems in all of biology. A key challenge relevant to the question of eukaryogenesis is reconstructing the gene repertoire of the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA). As data sets grow, sketching an accurate genomics-informed picture of early eukaryotic cellular complexity requires provision of analytical resources and a commitment to data sharing. Here, we summarise progress towards understanding the biology of LECA and outline a community approach to inferring its wider gene repertoire. Once assembled, a robust LECA gene set will be a useful tool for evaluating alternative hypotheses about the origin of eukaryotes and understanding the evolution of traits in all descendant lineages, with relevance in diverse fields such as cell biology, microbial ecology, biotechnology, agriculture, and medicine. In this Consensus View, we put forth the status quo and an agreed path forward to reconstruct LECA’s gene content.</p>}},
  author       = {{Richards, Thomas A. and Eme, Laura and Archibald, John M. and Leonard, Guy and Coelho, Susana M. and de Mendoza, Alex and Dessimoz, Christophe and Dolezal, Pavel and Fritz-Laylin, Lillian K. and Gabaldón, Toni and Hampl, Vladimír and Kops, Geert J.P.L. and Leger, Michelle M. and Lopez-Garcia, Purificacion and McInerney, James O. and Moreira, David and Muñoz-Gómez, Sergio A. and Richter, Daniel J. and Ruiz-Trillo, Iñaki and Santoro, Alyson E. and Sebé-Pedrós, Arnau and Snel, Berend and Stairs, Courtney W. and Tromer, Eelco C. and van Hooff, Jolien J.E. and Wickstead, Bill and Williams, Tom A. and Roger, Andrew J. and Dacks, Joel B. and Wideman, Jeremy G.}},
  issn         = {{1544-9173}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{11}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS Biology}},
  title        = {{Reconstructing the last common ancestor of all eukaryotes}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002917}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pbio.3002917}},
  volume       = {{22}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}