Chesna’s Part: CHAPTER 2

NOTE: For my part, pls ko put ONLY sa mga naka red and the images sa ppt. 
(Ako ra gi drop diri tanan discussions para maka read and naay reference pod) Thank you!

CHAPTER 2: The Origin and Chemistry of Life

Before we begin let me ask you first, how did life begin?
So take time to think, discover, and seek answers as I discuss the topic.

First of let’s first understand the meaning of the word “Origin”

what is origin?

The origin of the word origin is the Latin word originem, meaning "rise, beginning, or source."

GENERATION OF LIFE
LIFE:
- the existence of an individual human being or animal.

- the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the
capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding
death.

SPONTANEOUS GENERATION THEORY: ABIOGENESIS

MICE THAT ARE BORN FROM A SHIRT
Belgian plant nutritionist, Jean Baptiste van Helmont
declared he had performed a unique experiment
 he placed a dirty shirt together with some wheat and according to him, mice were born
21 days later. According to the Doctor the sweat in the shirt was the active element which gave
life to the inert matter.

This experiment led to the idea of “Spontaneous Generation”

- Spontaneous generation theory is an archaic scientific theory which stated that living
organisms could arise from nonliving matter and that such a process was regular in
nature. It also explained the origin of life from the nonliving subjects.

In ancient times, people commonly thought that life

arose repeatedly by spontaneous generation from nonliving
material in addition to parental reproduction. For example,
frogs appeared to arise from damp earth, mice from putrefied
matter, insects from dew, and maggots from decaying meat.
Warmth, moisture, sunlight, and even starlight often were
considered factors that encouraged spontaneous generation
of living organisms.

BUT THIS THEORY WAS CONTRADICTED AND PROVEN WRONG BY:

French chemist and microbiologist, Louis Pasteur [is credited with conclusively disproving the
theory of spontaneous generation with his famous swan-neck flask experiment.] through his
swan-neck flask experiment
Louis Pasteur disproved the theory of spontaneous generation.
He subsequently proposed that “life only comes from life.”
“Never will the doctrine of spontaneous generation arise from this mortal blow.”

All living organisms share a common ancestor; most likely, a population of microorganisms
that lived almost 4 billion years ago was the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of life on
earth.

This common ancestor was itself the product of a long period of prebiotic assembly of nonliving
matter, including organic molecules and water, to form self-replicating units. All living
organisms retain a fundamental chemical composition inherited from their ancient common
ancestor.

THE BEGINNING OF THE UNIVERSE

- BIG-BANG THEORY
- PRIMORDIAL SOUP THEORY
BIG-BANG THEORY
The big bang is how astronomers explain the way the universe began.
The theory states that the universe originated from a primeval fireball and has been expanding
and cooling since its inception 10 to 20 billion years ago

“Explosion?” No.
- It is the idea that the universe began as just a single point, then expanded and stretched
to grow as large as it is right now—and it is still stretching!
There was no bang, just a vast expansion of extremely condensed material.
According to the theory, the universe—this includes all space, time, energy, etc.—was
condensed into an extremely hot zero-volume entity of infinite density called a singularity.
Three key pieces of observational evidence lend support to the Big Bang theory: 
1. the measured abundances of elements
2. the observed expansion of space
3. and the discovery of the cosmic microwave background (CMB)

Thus, the universe as we know it (or barely know it) is the result of this singularity expanding
and cooling. 

The first idea to capture scientists’ attention was the “primordial soup” :
PRIMORDIAL SOUP THEORY
“Oxygen-free” gaseous mixture.
containing chiefly water, hydrogen, methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.
two researchers working independently:
- Alexander Oparin in the USSR
- British geneticist J. B. S. Haldane.
The theory states that if energy is added to the gases that made up Earth's early
atmosphere, the building blocks of life would be created.
Earth was young, the oceans were filled with simple chemicals important for life. These would
eventually self-assemble into simple living cells. This idea was proposed in the 1920s.
There are still a LOT of theories pertaining to the origins of the universe. Theories about it
actually helped scientists envision the beginnings of the universe.

2.1 WATER AND LIFE

What makes water so necessary?
Water makes up 60-75% of human body weight. A loss of just 4% of total body water leads to
dehydration, and a loss of 15% can be fatal.
Likewise, a person could survive a month without food but wouldn’t survive 3 days
without water. This crucial dependence on water broadly governs all life forms.  Clearly water
is vital for survival.
The origin and maintenance of life on earth depend critically upon water. Many of
water’s roles in supporting life are due to its molecular structure and a few special properties.

Water is a simple molecule composed of two small, positively charged hydrogen atoms
and one large negatively charged oxygen atom. When the hydrogens bind to the oxygen, it
creates an asymmetrical molecule with positive charge on one side and negative charge on
the other side (Figure 1). This charge differential is called polarity and dictates how water
interacts with other molecules.

Figur
e 1: Water Chemistry. Water molecules are made of two hydrogens and one oxygen. These
atoms are of different sizes and charges, which creates the asymmetry in the molecular
structure and leads to strong bonds between water and other polar molecules, including water
itself.

WATER HAS A HIGH SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY.

meaning it takes more energy to increase the temperature of water compared to other
substances

WATER ALSO HAS A HIGH HEAT OF VAPORIZATION.

 because hydrogen bonds form readily between the oxygen of one molecule and the
hydrogens of other molecules. These bonds hold the molecules together. To get water to
vaporize, you must increase the temperature to make the molecules move faster.

WATER HAS A UNIQUE DENSITY BEHAVIOR.

Normally, liquids become increasingly dense as they are cooled down, but water
reaches a maximum density at about 4 degrees Celsius (39.2 Fahrenheit).

Why does it have a unique density behavior?

Let’s take a look at an example. (This also explains why ice floats on water.)

 The density of water is a maximum at 4 °C

 0oC
//////////////////////////////////// 1oC
2oC

3oC

4oC

Note:
Ice acts as an insulator, preventing the lower parts of the ocean from getting too cold. (If it’s
too cold, life underneath would be scarce.) Take note also that most of the ocean life can be
found in coastal habitats on the continental shelf.

The water or the frozen water from the top cannot go down (possible only if the whole ocean is
frozen; which is impossible. Because we also have a heat source coming from the ground.).

It can get no colder than 4 °C because that’s when the water is most dense.

WATER ALSO HAS A HIGH SURFACE TENSION.

[Surface tension could be defined as the property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to
resist an external force, due to the cohesive nature of the water molecules.]
 (insects such as water
striders and whirligig
beetles)

Water has an unusually high surface tension because of the relatively high attraction of
water molecules to each other through a web of hydrogen bonds, water has a higher surface
tension than most other liquids.

WATER ALSO HAS LOW VISCOSITY.

[viscosity, resistance of a fluid (liquid or gas) to a

change in shape, or movement of neighboring portions
relative to one another.]

Water has a low viscosity due to the low inter-

molecular bonds. However, the strength of these
bonds increase as water gets colder. Once it drops to
0oC and starts to freeze, it is clear that the viscosity is
much higher. Ice still flows, but at a much slower rate
than warm water.

WATER IS AN EXCELLENT SOLVENT.

Water is referred to as a solvent—a substance capable of dissolving another substance.

Because water is polar, with slight positive and negative charges, ionic compounds and
polar molecules can readily dissolve in it.

Because water is critical to the support of life, the continuing search for extraterrestrial
life usually begins with a search for water.
In conclusion, water is vital for all life. Its versatility and adaptability help perform
important chemical reactions.

CHEMICAL REACTIONS INVOLVING ORGANIC COMPOUNDS

- Hydrolysis
- Condensation
These reactions involve the building up or breaking down of organic molecules. As with
other chemical reactions involving organic compounds, these processes result in a change in
the class of organic compound represented.
HYDROLYSIS
- Compounds are “split into smaller pieces” by the addition of a molecule of water
- [Hydrolysis involves the reaction of an organic chemical with water to form two or more
new substances and usually means the cleavage of chemical bonds by the addition of
water.]

CONDENSATION
- Larger compounds might be “synthesized” from smaller components by the reverse of
hydrolysis.
- [In organic chemistry, a condensation reaction is a type of chemical reaction in which
two molecules are combined to form a single molecule, usually with the loss of a small
molecule such as water.]
2.2 MACROMOLECULES
Chemical evolution in a prebiotic environment produced simple organic compounds that
ultimately formed the building blocks of living cells.
The term “organic” refers broadly to compounds that contain carbon. Carbon has a
great ability to bond with other carbon atoms in chains of varying lengths and configurations.
Carbon-to-carbon combinations introduce the possibility of enormous complexity and variety
into molecular structure.

Before we dig much deeper about macromolecules, let’s first determine the following:
- MONOMERS
- POLYMERS

MONOMERS
“Mono” = ONE ; “MEROS” = PART

:ONE PART

Monomers are atoms or small molecules that bond together to form more complex
structures such as polymers. There are four main types of monomers, including sugars, amino
acids, fatty acids, and nucleotides.
[monomers are building blocks of polymers]

POLYMERS
“Poly” = MANY; “MEROS” = PART

:MANY PART

Polymers are large molecules made up of long chains or networks of smaller molecules

called monomers. 

CARBOHYDRATES: NATURE’S MOST ABUNDANT ORGANIC SUBSTANCE

 Carbohydrates are biological molecules made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a
ratio of roughly one carbon atom (C) to one water molecule (H2O). This composition gives
carbohydrates their name: they are made up of carbon (carbo-) plus water (-hydrate).
Carbohydrate chains come in different lengths, and biologically important carbohydrates
belong to three categories: monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.

Monosaccharides
Monosaccharides (mono- = “one”; sacchar- = “sugar”)

- are simple sugars, the most common of which is glucose. Monosaccharides have a
formula of (CH2O)n and they typically contain three to seven carbon atoms.
- Monosaccharides are the simplest carbohydrates since they cannot be hydrolyzed to
smaller carbohydrates.
- Most of the oxygen atoms in monosaccharides are found in hydroxyl (OH)groups, but
one of them is part of a carbonyl (C=O) group.

- Sugars are also named according to their number of carbons: some of the most
common types are trioses (three carbons), pentoses (five carbons), and hexoses (six
carbons).

One important monosaccharide is glucose, a six-carbon sugar with the formula C6H12O6.

Other common monosaccharides include galactose (which forms part of lactose, the sugar
found in milk) and fructose (found in fruit).
The glucose has two isomers, alpha glucose and beta glucose. 
Glucose, galactose, and fructose have the same chemical formula(C6H12O6), but they differ
in the organization of their atoms, making them isomers of one another. Fructose is a structural
isomer of glucose and galactose, meaning that its atoms are actually bonded together in a
different order.

DISACCHARIDES
 (di- = “two”)
- form when two monosaccharides join together via a dehydration reaction, also known
as a condensation reaction or dehydration synthesis. In this process, the hydroxyl group
of one monosaccharide combines with the hydrogen of another, releasing a molecule of
water and forming a covalent bond known as a glycosidic linkage.
 - Common disaccharides include lactose, maltose, and sucrose.
- Lactose is a disaccharide consisting of glucose and galactose and is found naturally in
milk.
- Kinsa may lactose intolerant diri?-----
- Many people can't digest lactose as adults, resulting in lactose intolerance (which you or
your friends may be all too familiar with). Maltose, or malt sugar, is a disaccharide made
up of two glucose molecules. The most common disaccharide is sucrose (table sugar),
which is made of glucose and fructose.

POLYSACCHARIDES

polysaccharide (poly- = “many”)

A long chain of monosaccharides linked by glycosidic bonds is known as

a polysaccharide (poly- = “many”). The chain may be branched or unbranched and may
contain different types of monosaccharides.

Starch, glycogen, cellulose, and chitin are some major examples of polysaccharides important
in living organisms.
Starch is the common polymer in which plants store sugar, and it is an important food for
animals.

Chitin is an important structural polysaccharide in the exoskeletons of insects and other

arthropods.

Glycogen, a multibranched polymer of glucose, is an important polymer for storing sugar in

animals. It is stored mainly in liver and muscle cells in vertebrates as globular granules, each
one containing around 30,000 connected glucose subunits. When needed, glucose molecules
are cleaved from glycogen and delivered by blood to the tissues.

Cellulose, the principal structural carbohydrate of plants.

LIPIDS: FUEL STORAGE AND BUILDING MATERIAL

 - Lipids are molecules that contain hydrocarbons and make up the building blocks of the
structure and function of living cells.

- Examples of lipids include fats, oils, waxes, certain vitamins (such as A, D, E and K),
hormones and most of the cell membrane that is not made up of protein.

- Lipids are mainly composed of hydrocarbons in their most reduced form, making them
an excellent form of energy storage, as when metabolized the hydrocarbons oxidize to
release large amounts of energy.

- There are 3 principal groups of lipids:

(1) Triglycerides
(2) Phospholipids
(3) Steroids

TRIGLYCERIDES
“true fats”

- Triglycerides are a type of fat (lipid) found in your blood.

- Are major fluids of animals. Triglycerides store unused calories and provide your body
with energy.
- When you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn't need to use right away into
triglycerides. The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells. Later, hormones release
triglycerides for energy between meals.

- In the human body, Triglycerides are primarily stored in specialized fat cells, called
adipocytes.
- Adipocytes make up a tissue known as adipose tissue.

Glycerol
- Triglycerides contain glycerol and three molecules of fatty acids.
- Fatty acids in triglycerides are simply long chain monocarboxylic acids; they vary in size
but are commonly 14 to 24 carbons long.
-
Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids
- Saturated fats are called "saturated" because of their chemical structure. All fats are
made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen molecules. Saturated fats are "saturated"
with hydrogen atoms, which means they have the greatest number of hydrogen atoms
possible and no double bonds in their chemical structure.
 Examples: Saturated fats occur naturally in many foods. Most come from animal
sources, including meat and dairy products, as well as tropical fats like coconut, palm
and palm kernel. Butter is also an example.

- Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, are considered beneficial fats because
they can improve blood cholesterol levels, ease inflammation, stabilize heart rhythms,
and play a number of other beneficial roles.

- They differ from saturated fats in that their chemical structure contains one or more
double bonds.

Examples: Canola oils, Avocados, Omega-3, Fish, Soybeans, Oils from

vegetables, and many more.

COMPARISON

- In comparison, Saturated fatty acids lack double bonds between the individual carbon
atoms, while in unsaturated fatty acids there is at least one double bond in the fatty acid
chain. Saturated fats tend to be solid at room temperature and from animal sources,
while unsaturated fats are usually liquid and from plant sources.

PHOSPHOLIPIDS
- Important components of the molecular organization of tissues, especially membranes.
- Major components of the plasma membrane.

- They resemble triglycerides in structure, except that one of the three fatty acids is
replaced by phosphoric acid and an organic base.
 A phospholipid is an amphipathic molecule, meaning it has a hydrophobic part and a
hydrophilic part. The fatty acid chains are hydrophobic and do not interact with water, whereas
the phosphate-containing group is hydrophilic (because of its charge) and interacts readily with
water. In a membrane, phospholipids are arranged into a structure called a bilayer, with their
phosphate heads facing the water and their tails pointing towards the inside (above). This
organization prevents the hydrophobic tails from coming into contact with the water, making it
a low-energy, stable arrangement.

If a drop of phospholipids is placed in water, it may spontaneously form a sphere-

shaped structure known as a micelle, in which the hydrophilic phosphate heads face the
outside and the fatty acids face the interior of this structure. Formation of micelle is an
energetically favored because it sequesters the hydrophobic fatty acid tails, allowing the
hydrophilic phosphate head group to instead interact with the surrounding water.

STEROIDS
- Are complex alcohols.
- Are structurally unlike fats, but have fatlike properties, including low polarity.

- have numerous physiological functions associated with cellular signaling or modulation

of the lipid membrane structure and dynamics, and as such, they have found broad
pharmacological applications.

- Steroids have a carbon backbone that consists of four fused ring-like structures.

Steroids include cholesterol, sex hormones (progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone)
produced by gonads and cortisone.

AMINO ACIDS AND PROTEINS

Amino Acids
- The building blocks of proteins
- Are small organic molecules that consist of an alpha (central) carbon atom linked to an
amino group, a carboxyl group, a hydrogen atom, and a variable component called a
side chain.
 - Within a protein, multiple amino acids are linked together by peptide bonds, thereby
forming a long chain.
Peptide bonds are formed by a biochemical reaction that extracts a water
molecule as it joins the amino group of one amino acid to the carboxyl group of a
neighboring amino acid. The linear sequence of amino acids within a protein is
considered the primary structure of the protein.

Proteins
We tend to think of protein as a mass noun: a homogeneous substance, something that
your diet should contain in a certain proportion. But if you ever work in a molecular biology lab
(say, for a summer internship), protein may start to look very different to you.
- Proteins are among the most abundant organic molecules in living systems and are way
more diverse in structure and function than other classes of macromolecules.
- A protein is not just a long string of amino acids; it is a highly organized molecule.
- There are four (4) levels of protein organization.
(1) Primary
- Primary structure is defined as the linear amino acid sequence of a protein's
polypeptide chain.
- the sequence of amino acids linked together to form a polypeptide chain.

(2) Secondary
- Secondary structure is defined as the local spatial conformation of the polypeptide
backbone excluding the side chains.
- Localized structures that form based on interactions within the protein backbone.
- The secondary structure contains regions of amino acid chains that are stabilized by
hydrogen bonds from the polypeptide backbone. These hydrogen bonds create alpha-
helix and beta-pleated sheets of the secondary structure.

(3) Tertiary
- Tertiary structure refers to the three‐dimensional arrangement of all the atoms that
constitute a protein molecule.
- The overall three-dimensional arrangement of its polypeptide chain in space.
- It relates the precise spatial coordination of secondary structure elements and the
location of all functional groups of a single polypeptide chain.
 (4) Quaternary structures
- The most intricate degree of organization still considered a single molecule.
- To be considered to have quaternary structure, a protein must have two or more
peptide chains forming subunits. The subunits can be different or identical, and in most
cases they are arranged symmetrically.
- Many proteins are made up of a single polypeptide chain and have only three levels of
structure (the ones we’ve just discussed). However, some proteins are made up of
multiple polypeptide chains, also known as subunits. When these subunits come
together, they give the protein its quaternary structure.
There are several types of proteins including: antibodies, contractile proteins, enzymes,
hormonal proteins, structural proteins, storage proteins, and transport proteins.

LET’S FOCUS ON ENZYMES AND HORMONES!

Enzymes
Enzymes help speed up chemical reactions in the human body. They are essential for
respiration, digesting food, muscle and nerve function, among thousands of other roles.

Each cell in the human body contains thousands of enzymes. Enzymes provide help
with facilitating chemical reactions within each cell.

How enzymes work

The “lock and key” model was first proposed in 1894. In this model, an enzyme’s active
site is a specific shape, and only the substrate will fit into it, like a lock and key.
Lock-and-key model is a model for enzyme-substrate interaction suggesting that the
enzyme and the substrate possess specific complementary geometric shapes that fit exactly
into one another. Enzymes are highly specific. They must bind to a specific substrate before
they can catalyze a chemical reaction.
: : There are tons of enzymes working in our system, you can just surf the net for more
information since we don’t have the time to go through each one.

Hormones
- Hormones are long-distance chemical signals released by endocrine cells (like the cells
of your pituitary gland). They control specific physiological processes, such as growth,
development, metabolism, and reproduction.
-  your body's chemical messengers
5 important hormones.

1. Insulin
This hormone makes it possible for your organs, liver, and fat to absorb glucose.

If your body doesn’t generate enough insulin or if it isn’t using it well, blood
sugar accumulates and can set you up for diabetes.

2. Melatonin
instrumental in your sleep/wake cycles and your internal body clock.

3. Estrogen
female sex hormone, estrogen is released by a woman’s ovaries. 

4. Testosterone
sex hormone that’s manufactured in male testicles and female ovaries

5. Cortisol
the stress hormone. It’s a natural alert system to let you know when you’re under
duress

NUCLEIC ACIDS
Nucleic acids, and DNA in particular, are key macromolecules for the continuity of life.
A nucleotide is one of the structural components, or building blocks, of DNA and RNA
- Nucleic acids, macromolecules made out of units called nucleotides, come in two
naturally occurring varieties: deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).
DNA is the genetic material found in living organisms, all the way from single-celled
bacteria to multicellular mammals like you and me. Some viruses use RNA, not DNA, as
their genetic material, but aren’t technically considered to be alive (since they cannot
reproduce without help from a host).
DNA
- Deoxyribonucleic acid is a polymer.
- Composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double
helix carrying genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and
reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses. DNA and ribonucleic acid are
nucleic acids.
- DNA bears the hereditary information that’s passed on from parents to children,
providing instructions for how (and when) to make the many proteins needed to build
and maintain functioning cells, tissues, and organisms.
RNA
- Ribonucleic acid (abbreviated RNA) is a nucleic acid present in all living cells that has
structural similarities to DNA.
- Unlike DNA, however, RNA is most often single-stranded. An RNA molecule has a
backbone made of alternating phosphate groups and the sugar ribose, rather than the
deoxyribose found in DNA.

2.3 CHEMICAL EVOLUTION

“PRIMORDIAL SOUP THEORY”
The Oparin-Haldane hypothesis
- British scientist J.B.S. Haldane
- Russian biochemist Aleksandr Oparin
Oparin and Haldane proposed that ultraviolet radiation of such a gas mixture caused many
organic substances, such as sugars and amino acids, to form.
: : This was discussed earlier.
To produce a chemical reaction, a continuous source of free energy sufficient to overcome
reaction-activation barriers must be supplied.

Lightning from thunderstorms was probably the most important source of energy for organic
synthesis.

One hypothesis maintains, for example, that life originated not on the surface of the earth, but
deep beneath the sea in or around hydrothermal vents. Hydrothermal vents are submarine
hot springs; seawater seeps
through cracks in the seafloor until the water comes close to hot magma.

PREBIOTIC SYNTHESIS OF SMALL ORGANIC MOLECULES

The Miller-Urey experiment

- Stanley Miller
- Harold Urey
In 1953, Stanley Miller and Harold Urey did an experiment to test Oparin and Haldane's
ideas.
- a simulation of conditions on the early Earth testing the idea of Oparin and Haldane that
life, or more specifically organic molecules, could have formed by nothing more than
simple chemical reactions.
- The most striking finding was that many compounds related to life were
synthesized.

2.4 ORIGIN OF LIVING ORGANISMS

Life arose on the early Earth by a series of progressive chemical reactions. Such
reactions may have been likely or may have required one or more highly improbable chemical
events.

The fossil record reveals that life existed 3.8 billion years ago; therefore, the origin of the
earliest form of life can be estimated at approximately 4 billion years ago.

- The first living organisms were protocells, membrane-bound units that could reproduce.

“RNA WORLD”

- RNA is the macromolecule that possesses both the enzymatic and the informational
properties necessary for self-replication.

- Catalytic RNA (ribozymes) mediates processing of messenger RNA (removal of introns)

and formation of peptide bonds in living systems. Therefore, the earliest enzymes could
have been RNA, and the earliest self-replicating molecules could have been RNA.

- Membranous vesicles formed spontaneously by amphiphilic fatty acids in water would

have enclosed the “RNA world” in precursors of cellular life.

Life is coeternal with matter and has no beginning; life arrived on Earth at the time of Earth's
origin or shortly thereafter.

ORIGIN OF METABOLISM
The exact history of this phase of life’s evolution is unknown, but we do have some concepts
about it.

AUTOTROPHS
Autos = self + trophos = feeder
= SELF-FEEDER
An autotroph is an organism that can produce its own food using light, water, carbon
dioxide, or other chemicals. Because autotrophs produce their own food, they are sometimes
called producers. Plants are the most familiar type of autotroph, but there are many different
kinds of autotrophic organisms such as: algae, some bacteria and fungi, etc.

HETEROTROPHS
Heteros = another + trophos = feeder
= ANOTHER-FEEDER
A heterotroph is an organism that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients.
Known as consumers because they consume producers or other consumers. Dogs, birds, fish,
and humans are all examples of heterotrophs.
APPEARANCE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND OXIDATIVE METABOLISM
Autotrophy evolved in the form of photosynthesis.
In photosynthesis, hydrogen atoms obtained from water react with carbon dioxide
obtained from the atmosphere to generate sugars and molecular oxygen.
In the earliest forms of bacterial photosynthesis, hydrogen atoms were derived from
hydrogen sulfide or hydrogen gas. Thus, the first form of photosynthesis occurred in bacteria
and did not generate oxygen.

Cyanobacteria later evolved a water-dependent photosynthesis, which was transferred to an

ancestor of plants by endosymbiosis.
Endosymbiosis is a term used to describe two organisms living together with one inside
the other.

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to
create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar.

During this process, organisms such as plants go through the light-dependent and light-
independent reactions to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars and oxygen.

Photosynthesis is important because it is the process that plants use to transform carbon
dioxide into oxygen with the help of sunlight : : THE MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF
OXYGEN IS PHOTOSYNTHESIS
OXIDATIVE METABOLISM
- respiration in the biochemical sense.
- A chemical process in which oxygen is used to make energy from carbohydrates
(sugars).

2.5 PRECAMBRIAN LIFE

- Precambrian, period of time extending from about 4.6 billion years ago (the point at
which Earth began to form)

- The Precambrian is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current
Phanerozoic Eon.

- The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the
Phanerozoic Eon, which is named after Cambria, the Latinised name for Wales, where
rocks from this age were first studied.

Animal phyla appear in the fossil record within a few million years at the
beginning of the Cambrian period.
 The Cambrian Period marks an important point in the history of life on Earth; it is the
time when most of the major groups of animals first appear in the fossil record. This event is
sometimes called the "Cambrian Explosion," because of the relatively short time over which
this diversity of forms appears.

Studies now suggest that the rarity of Precambrian fossils may represent poor fossilization
rather than absence of animal diversity from the Precambrian period.
PROKARYOTES AND EUKARYOTES

A great variety of forms, some of which were capable of photosynthesis. From these arose the
oxygen-producing cyanobacteria approximately 3 billion years ago.

PROKARYOTES
Greek
“Pro” = before + “Karyon” = kernel (nucleus)

= BEFORE NUCLEUS

- Prokaryotes are organisms whose cells lack a nucleus and other

organelles. Prokaryotes are divided into two distinct groups: the bacteria and the
archaea
- Examples of prokaryotes are blue-green algae, bacteria and mycoplasma.
- Among prokaryotes, bacteria are the most common and multiply very fast.

An important product of evolution in an oxygenated atmosphere was the eukaryotic cell, whose
metabolism usually depends upon reacting organic compounds with molecular oxygen.

EUKARYOTES
Greek
“Eu” = well, good, true + “Karyon” = kernel (nucleus)

= WELL / GOOD / TRUE NUCLEUS

- Eukaryotes are organisms whose cells contain a nucleus and other membrane-bound

organelles. There is a wide range of eukaryotic organisms, including all animals, plants,
fungi, and protists, as well as most algae. Eukaryotes may be either single-celled or
multicellular.

PROTOZOANS / PROTISTS

- Single – Celled forms were formerly called “protozoans” or “protists”.

- Modern ultrastructural, biochemical, and genetic evidence has rendered the
term protozoan highly problematic. For example, protozoan historically referred to
a protist that has animal-like traits, such as the ability to move through water as though
“swimming” like an animal. Protozoans traditionally were thought to be the progenitors
of modern animals, but contemporary evidence has revealed that this is not the case for
most protozoans. In fact, modern science has shown that the protozoans represent a
very complicated grouping of organisms that do not necessarily share a common
evolutionary history. This unrelated, or paraphyletic, nature of the protozoans has
caused scientists to abandon the term protozoan in formal classification schemes.
Hence, the subkingdom Protozoa is now considered obsolete. Today the
term protozoan is used informally in reference to nonfilamentous heterotrophic protists.
Lynn Margulis, an American biologist and other scientists’ IDEA

- SYMBIOSIS

- have proposed that eukaryotes did not arise from any single prokaryote but were
derived from a symbiosis (“life together”) of two or more types of bacteria.

Symbiosis is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two
different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasitic. The
organisms, each termed a symbiont, must be of different species. 

Figure 2.20 The clock of biological time. A billion seconds ago it was 1985, and most students
using this text had not yet been born. A billion minutes ago the Roman empire was at its
zenith. A billion hours ago Neanderthals were alive. A billion days ago the first bipedal
hominids walked the earth. A billion months ago the dinosaurs were at the climax of their
radiation. A billion years ago no animal had ever walked on the surface of the earth.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:

- The endosymbiotic theory proposes that an ancestral population resembling anaerobic

bacteria evolved a nucleus and other intracellular membranes by enfolding its cell
membrane. These cells ingested aerobic bacteria that avoided digestion and
propagated in the host cell’s cytoplasm.

- The endosymbiotic aerobic bacteria metabolized oxygen, a toxin for its anaerobic host,
and the anaerobic host cell gave its aerobic residents food and physical protection. This
mutually beneficial relationship eventually became obligatory, with the endosymbionts
losing an ability to survive autonomously, and the host cell losing its ability to survive
without the aerobic metabolism provided by the endosymbionts, which became the host
cell’s mitochondria.

COMPARISON

Prokaryotes are always unicellular, while eukaryotes are often multi-celled organisms.
Additionally, eukaryotic cells are more than 100 to 10,000 times larger than prokaryotic cells
and are much more complex. The DNA in eukaryotes is stored within the nucleus, while DNA
is stored in the cytoplasm of prokaryotes.