The Serial Endosymbiosis Theory

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the serial endosymbiosis theory, which states that the evolution of eukaryotes (cells that have a nuclei) from prokaryotes (cells that lack a nuclei) involved the symbiotic unification of many previously independent ancestors. The writer describes the theory's four main parts and presents the evidence in support of the theory. The writer then explains how some aspects of this theory, such as the notion that eukaryotic cilia and flagella originated from spirochete bacteria, have been rejected by some scientists and discusses alternative theories that have been proposed. The paper concludes that future research should be concentrated on analyzing new molecular and nucleic sequence data along with fossil records to divulge significant information regarding the origin of eukaryotes.

Outline:
Controversy regarding the Serial Endosymbiosis Theory
The Chimeric Model
The Hydrogen Hypothesis
The Syntrophic Hypothesis

From the Paper:

"The origin of the eukaryotic cell was first analyzed by American biologist Ivan Wallin in the 1920s; he proposed that the cell was composed of colonies of microbes. Although over time adjustments and tweaks have been made to the theory, the invention of the modern Serial Endosymbiosis theory can be credited to biologist Lynn Margulis. Margulis proposed that eukaryotic cells originated as colonies of interacting individuals that joined together in a specific sequence. Over a period of time, the individuals of this unification became the organelles of a single host (Margulis and Chapman, 1998)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Andersson S. and Kurland C. 1999. Origins of mitochondria and hydrogenosomes. Current opinion in microbiology. 2(5): 535-541.
• Dolan M., Melnitsky H., Margulis L., and Kolnicki R. 2002. Motility proteins and the origin of the nucleus. The Anatomical Record. 268(3): 290-301.
• Gupta R., and Golding G. 1996. The origin of the eukaryotic cell. Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 21(5): 166-171.
• Ibanez-Tallon I., Heintz N., and Omran H. 2003. To beat or not to beat: roles of cilia in development and disease. Human Molecular Genetics. 12(1): R27-R35.
• Lopez-Garcia P. and Moreira D. 1999. Metabolic symbiosis at the origin of eukaryotes. Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 24(3): 88-93.

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