Mitochondria have thier own DNA, and I think that is the reason for that theory.
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ObtuseDoorFrame@lemmy.zip 12 hours agoScientists theorize that the mitochondria was an entirely different organism which was captured by our ancient single-celled ancestor and assimilated into itself. I can’t remember what the evidence is for this theory but it’s wild to think about.
Aremel@lemmy.zip 12 hours ago
ObtuseDoorFrame@lemmy.zip 12 hours ago
Yes! It was something like that. It’s been a few years since I took that biology class but that sounds right.
Hegar@fedia.io 10 hours ago
Yep! It's called primary endosymbosis and it's one of the coolest things around! (I think.) The endpoint of a process where two parts of symbiotic relationship morph into an organ in an organism.
The first case of primary endosymbosis resulted in the mitochondria and thus all multicellar life. That's pretty cool.
Another time created the chloroplast and thus all plantlife. Again, yay for primary endosymbiosis!
A few years ago scientists discovered that it happened really recently, resulting in an organism with a "nitroplast" for in house nitrogen fixing. So in the far distant future there could be an entirely novel branch of life, potentially as different from what we know as redwoods are from cats.