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Academic Voices A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 1, N0. 1, 2011 POSITION OF CYANOBACTERIA AND ALGAE IN ORIGIN OF LIFE Vishwanath Prasad Department of Botany Abstract Our beautiful planet, the earth was originated 4.5 billion years ago in our solar system. Between 3.5 – 4.0 billion years ago, after several events of chemical evolution and modifi cation in the earth's atmosphere, the fi rst life, amino acid and nucleic acid, called ecobiont or protobiont, was originated in abiogenesis phase and started protobiology phase. The life has evolved into three domains: age of Eobacteria, Cyanobacteria and Eukaryotes which ultimately evolve into land plants. The purpose of the this article is to add some recent information about origin of life and position of cyanobacteria in the evolution of higher plants. Keywords Origin, life, Ecobiont, Cyanobacteria, algae. Introduction from each other by immense large empty space. Spiral galaxy, our closest neighbour Life is very mysterious gift of nature on called the Andromeda Nebula, located at this beautiful planet, earth. The origin of about 28 million light years from the earth is life and even earth in the universe is still the cluster of galaxies. Average galaxy consists mysterious and complex. The earth is a tiny of some 100 billion stars. Our sun is one of the part of the Universe. The theoretical rough middle size star and our earth is a middle size estimate reveals that the universe consists planet of the solar system (Carl Zeiss, 2005). about 50 billion galaxies. Astrophysics study The earth was probably formed about 4.5x109 of the universe from the earth using the art years ago, however, the oldest terrestrial rocks technology observation reveals the presence found to date are about 3.5x109 years old or so. of two galaxies, elliptical and spiral, separated ( Margulis et al, 1976). 94 Cyanobacteria and Algae in origin of life Origin of Life : primitive prokaryote chlorobacteria, the fi rst negibacteria with cell bounded by two acyl Life probably originated when the earth's ester phospholipid membranes. They have atmosphere was anoxic and consist of methane, anoxygenic photosynthesis, chaemosynthesis ammonia, nitrogen and water vapour with using hydrogen or H s as hydrogen donor preponderance of hydrogen (Oparin, 1964). 2 Many events of chemical evolution are likely to to fi x carbon. Then, transition occurred in have occurred in the prebiontic atmosphere, negibacteria, eurybacteria, posibacteria, probably between 3500-4000 million years glycobacteria and then into chlorobacteria ago and simpler organic compounds like with origination of fl agella in cells. This is amino acids were formed under the infl uence also called Chlorobacterial age. Archaea a of ultraviolet radiations and electric discharge third dormain of life, in addition to bacteria as sources of energy. Later, the earth cooled and eukaryote, on the basis of molecular, down suffi ciently to provide pools of liquid genomics and phylogenetic data is diversifi ed water. In the early period of earth, there were into two major phyla, the Crenarchaeota production of complex organic compounds and the Euryarchaeota. (Woese et. al., 1990; without life. It was called phase of abiogenesis. Gribaldo and Brochier, 2006) Nature have made several trials in creating Age of Cyanobacteria the fi rst biological entity. The droplet After the Chlorobacterial or Eobacterial age, called coacervates, may absorb water, swell the cellular innovation and microbial radiation and under go the processes of selectivity, dramatically transformed the earth's surface recognition, interaction etc. It could have and the glycobacterial revolution initiated led to replicating molecules which gradually an oxygenic age called age of Cyanobacteria. evolved into biological entities. This phage During this age, between 2.8 – 0.9 billion was the origin of amino acid which on heating years ago, cyanobacterial photosynthesis originated nucleic acid. This phage is called predominantly fed ecosystem and the eobiology (dawn of life ) or protobiology (fi rst biosphere was diff erentiated into aerobic and life). Thus, the organisms are accordingly anaerobic zones. Therefore, cyanobacteria are called eobionts or protobionts. The eobionts also called fi rst oxygen producing organism and coacervates are the origin of biological and architects of atmosphere. organisms . Presently, the geological and biological evidences suggest that the fi rst The Eobacteria and Cyanobacteria both have living forms on this planet were probably always two distinct lipid surface membranes some heterotrophic anaerobic bacteria. where as posibacteria consists only one surface membrane, therefore, the Precambrian Three – phases history of life period could be properly termed as Age of Under two revolutionary periods, Prokaryotes and the later half of this Eon, was Glycobacterial revolution and Neomuran the Age of cyanobacteria (Schopf, 2006) revolution (Cavalier – Smith, 2006), life has Unlike most other groups of bacteria, the evolved into following three ages of life: age cyanobacteria have a greater diversity of of Eobacteria , age of Cyanobacteria and age 1, N0. 2011 Vol. morphological phenotype with few exceptions. of Eukaryotes. Many cyanobacteria have exteremely Age of Eobacteria long generation times as compared to the popular heterotrophic bacteria. They have This fi rst phase began before 2.9 -2.8 effi cient DNA-repair systems. The genome Gyrs ago when the origin of cells and size is apparently larger in most complex anoxic photosynthesis generated the most cyanobacteria than Ecoli, Bacillus and smaller Voices, Academic 95 V. Prasad unicellular cyanobacteria. The genome size of was highly reducing and hence hydrogenase, about 128 strains of cyanobacteria ranges from nitrogenase enzymes acetylene, cyanide, ca 1.6 billion daltons in unicellular type to 8.6 cyanogens, nitrites etc have high probability billion daltons in more complex fi lamentous in cyanobacteria. They have a novel device, type (Castenholz, 1992). heterocysts, to protect the oxygen – labile nitrogenase. The cyanophycin granule in Proteins and nucleic acids are dividing cyanobacteria contains equimolar proportions fossils because they have been dynamically of arginine and aspartic acid. (Kumar, et. al., conserved by the evolutionary process over 1980) millions of years. The prebiontic atmosphere Present 0.065 Gyr dinosaurs diatoms dinoflagellates 0.253 Gyr mass extinction PHANEROZOIC Age of eukaryotes 0.543 Gyr Land Plants NEOPROTEROZOIC Snow ball earth Methanogenesis Eukaryotes, archaebacteria NEOMURAN REVOLUTION 0.9 Gyr 1000 Myr Actinobacteria MID-PROTEROZOIC 1.5 Gyr Oxygen-rich atmosphere Age of Cyanobacteria 2000 Myr. 2.1 Gyr 2.3 Gyr atmospheric oxygenation PALAEOPROTEROZOIC 2.4 Gyr snowball earth Cyanobacteria GLYCOBACTERIAL REVOLUTION Oxygenic 2.8 Gyr anoxic Photosynthesis atmosphere 3000 Myr. Age of Eobacteria 3.1 Gyr ARCHAEN Possible cellular fossils Origin of life 3.5 Gyr Vol. 1, N0. 2011 Vol. HADEAN 3.8 Gyr Oldest rocks No evidence for life 4000 Myr. ago Fig 1. Origin of Life (Source : Cavalier – Smith, 2006) Academic Voices, Voices, Academic (Gyr: Billion years; Myr: Million years ) 96 Cyanobacteria and Algae in origin of life Age of Eukaryote Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, Glaucophyta, Euglenophyta, Chlorarachniophyta, The cyanobacterial oxygen liberation grew Haptophyta, Cryptophyta and Dinophyta. the ozone layer and later o.9 Gyr ago after rise Now, the algae may be classifi ed into 2 empires of planktons, during Neomuran revolution and 15 divisions (Prasad, 2010). another age started called age of Eukaryotes and Archaebacteria. During 720 Myr ago, due The eukaryotic phyla that exist today, to ultraviolet, the Arachean organic carbon have a fan–shaped phylogenetic evolution attributed methanogenesis and triggered (Hoek et. al., 2009). From the green lineage snow ball Earth episode by slight global diversifi cation the Charophytes have warming. originated. They have several similarities with land plants and initiated the evolution The evolution of green algal plastid is of and development of terrestrial ecosystems cyanobacterial origin due to endosymbiosis including Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, and which is supported by the discovery of the higher land plants (Kenrick and Crane, 1997; Prochlorophyta (Lewin, 1976). Cyanobacteria Bhattacharya and Medlin, 1998., Yin-lorg and are the source of Glaucophyte simple plastids. Jaff ery, 1999). The major lineages of the algae are the Eukaryotes 0.9 Gyr ago Archaebacteria Neomur Methanogenesis hyperthermophily unimembrana Neomuran revolution 0.9 Gyr ago 1.Surfacemembrane Colonize soil. 2.surfacemembranes Outer membrane Glycobacteria Eubacteria eg. Cyanobacteria Glycobacterial revolution Oxygen 1, N0. 2011 Vol. Negibacteria 2.8 Gyr ago Eobacteria eg. Chloroflexus 3.5 Gyr ago Fig 2. Tree of Life emphasizing major revolution (Source : Cavalier – Smith, 2006) Academic Voices, Voices, Academic 97 V. Prasad Fig 3. Tree of Life (Bhatacharya and Medlin, 1998; Hoek et. al., 2009) Conclusion References First of all, life between 3.5-4.0 billion years Bhattacharya, D. & Medlin, L. (1998). Algal ago, originated in in abiogenesis phase in Phylogeny and origin of Land Plants. Plant the form of amino acid and nucleic acid. The Physiol. 116, 9-15. life has evolved into three domains: age of Carl Zeiss, A.G. (2005). Black Hole in Ecobacteria, cyanobacteria and Eukaryotes. the Holmberg II Galaxy. Innovation, Cyanobacteria, fi rst phototrophs, during 16,10-11. glycobacterial revolution between