Bioinformaticians in Utrecht have reconstructed the evolutionary events leading to the creation of eukaryotic cells, the precursors to virtually all life you can see with the naked eye. By analyzing the duplicates of thousands of genes, the researchers discovered that the evolutionary timeline from simple bacterial cells to complex eukaryotic cells progressed differently than had previously been presumed. The researchers published their findings together with colleagues from Barcelona on 26 October in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Publication

Timing the origin of eukaryotic cellular complexity with ancient duplications. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 26 October 2020. Julian Vosseberg*, Jolien J. E. van Hooff*, Marina Marcet-Houben, Anne van Vlimmeren*, Leny M. van Wijk*, Toni Gabaldón, Berend Snel*. DOI 10.1038/s41559-020-01320-z

*Authors affiliated with Utrecht University.