The Origin and

Early Forms
of Life
 How do we define life? We simply describe life as easy as it is
recognized to be but often much harder to define it. The existence
of life on Earth was about billions of years as Scientists believed,
though, there is no exact date when life begin on Earth.
Nevertheless, using some pieces of evidence, they can trace how
life developed and evolved. Several attempts have been made from
time to time to explain the origin of the life on Earth and how life
really began. As a result, people have come up with different
theories providing their own explanation on the possible mechanism
on the origin of life. These theories can be tested to find out the
feasibility of the existence.
We begin with the Origin of Life and move to Early Forms of Life in
which some emerging evidences that lead to chemical origins and
the evolution of traits present in modern eukaryotes. The
possibilities of how life started are presented to understand the
existence of various early forms of life on Earth.
The Origin of Life
There were many theories inferred by different
scientists on the origin of life. These theories
may have or may have not scientific basis. Few
of these are the Theory of Special Creation,
Theory of Panspermia or the Extraterrestrial
Origin, Theory of Spontaneous Generation,
Theory of Evolution, Theory of Biogenesis,
Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vent Theory, and
Theory of Biochemical Evolution.
The theory of special creation is at the core of most
major religions that life created by supernatural divine
forces. This theory accounts that God created life as
written in the bible. Another possibility proposes that
cosmic dust may have carried significant amounts of
complex organic molecules to Earth. Nor is life on other
planets ruled out as according to the theory of
panspermia or the extraterrestrial. Meanwhile, the theory
of spontaneous generation says that life may have
evolved from inanimate matter associated to molecules
and became complex. The complexity of the molecules
culminated in the evolution of cells. Since forth, the time
of Charles Darwin came, and the theory of evolution has
been through more scrutiny for investigation just like the
other scientific claim.
Evolution is defined as any process of formation, growth, or
development. Charles Darwin published a book on evolution in
1859 titled “On the Origin of Species” which mentioned about
natural selection. He also presented great deal of evidences
that evolution occurs. The following are the main pieces of
evidence supporting evolution:
1. Species share similarities as sign of their common ancestry,
example: diverse insects have 6 legs.
2. There are progressions of species changing over time,
example: wild mustard associated with other vegetables
like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower.
3. Traits shown by species with remnants of past generation,
example: manatees (Trichechus manatus) are closely
related to elephants as shown by fingernails on the
flippers and hair on the body.
The theory of biogenesis says that living things
come from other living things. This theory was
developed by Rudolf Virchow in 1858 as
counterhypothesis to spontaneous generation.
Whereas, the deep-sea hydrothermal vent
theory proposed by Alexander Oparin and John
Haldane, mentioned the primordial soup theory.
Life started in a primordial soup of organic
molecules. Some form of energy from lightning
combined with the chemicals in the atmosphere
to make the amino acids (the building block of
proteins.
Finally, the theory of biochemical evolution
proposed that at the molecular level in
organisms had changed over a period. These
changes caused deletions, additions, or
substitutions of single nucleotides thus the
genomes duplicated.
 Early Forms of Life
•The divergence that separated the two prokaryotic
domains, Bacteria and Archaea, occurred very rarely in the
history of life, and no fossils from before this divergence have
been discovered.
• It has been studied that the first form of life is believed to
have appeared 3.5 billion years ago. Paleontologists are
the scientists who study fossils found microscopic living
cells known as microfossils in rocks that formed 3.5 billion
years ago after Earth cooled and solidified using
radioisotope dating (which uses radioactive materials such
as the radioactive components of potassium-argon).
The microfossils’ filaments found in Western
Australia resemble chains of modern photosynthetic
bacteria and the rocks in which they occur are
thought to be remains of ancient stromatolites
which are mounded, layered structure that forms in
shallow sunlit water when a mat of photosynthetic
bacteria traps minerals and sediment. These
stromatolites increase in size over time as new
layers form over the old. These organisms have
been so abundant 1.25 billion years ago and were
common worldwide.
Figure 1. Example of microfossils of Sulphur-metabolizing
cells in 3.4-billion-year-old rocks of Western Australia

7
Many types of bacteria carry out
photosynthesis, but only one group,
cyanobacteria, do so by an oxygen-producing
pathway. The microfossils of cyanobacteria
were among the easiest to recognize. The forms
of these organisms were remained the same
and left chemical fossils in the form of broken
products from pigments. The first microfossil
that showed remains of organisms with
differences in structure and characteristics was
seen 1.5 billion years ago on the rocks.
They are bigger compared to bacteria and have
internal membranes and thicker wall. These
findings marked the beginning of eukaryotic
organisms on Earth. The evolution of oxygen-
producing photosynthesis in cyanobacteria had
started on early life. About 2.5 billion years ago,
oxygen released by these bacteria had begun to
accumulate in Earth’s air and creating a new,
global selection pressure. Other species
considered oxygen as toxic thus evolved
gradually in its absence.
 How did multicellular organisms
evolve?
Multicellular organisms are believed to have evolved from unicellular
eukaryotes and until now it is the concept that we believe. Some
single eukaryotic cells, like unicellular algae, formed multicellular
aggregates through association with another cell producing colonies.
From colonial aggregates, the organisms evolved in order to form
multicellular organisms through cell specialization. Organisms like
protozoans, sponges, and fungi came to be being. The first fossilized
animals which were discovered 580 million years ago were soft-
bodied. The continuous process of cell specialization brought the
emergence of complex and diverse plants and animals, including
human beings. Charles Darwin said that organisms change over
time as a result of adaptation to their environment in order to survive.
Rise of the Eukaryotes
Nucleus is not often preserved during fossilization,
but other traits provide evidence that a fossilized cell
was eukaryotic. These eukaryotic cells are generally
larger than the prokaryotic cells. A cell wall with
complex patterns, spines, or spikes probably
belonged to eukaryote. Researchers and scientists
also look for biomarkers (substance that occurs only
or predominantly in cells of a specific type) for each
eukaryote just like the steroids found present only to
eukaryotes.
 Difference between Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
Prokaryotic Cell Eukaryotic Cell
‘pro’= pre, ‘karyon’=nucleus ‘eu’ = true , ‘karyon’= nucleus
Originated about 3.5 billion years Originated about 1.2 billion years
ago ago
Primitive forms Advanced
Unicellular Multicellular
Developing nucleus True nucleus present
Small in size Larger in Size
Non-bounded membrane Membrane-bounded
Eukaryotic Organelles and Description

Other Organelles   Description

▪ Ribosomes - Makes protein
▪ Golgi - Makes and does the packaging and processing of
Apparatus proteins
▪ Lysosomes - It contains enzymes to help break the food down
▪ Endoplasmic - Transports items around the cell
Reticulum
▪ Vacuole - For water or food storage
▪ Chloroplasts - Present in plants only; uses sunlight to make food
through photosynthesis
▪ Cell wall - Rigid; supports the cell
What I Have Learned
Learning Activity 1: Synthesizing your Learning.
Directions: Answer the following questions. Be brief and
concise. Write your answer on separate sheet of paper.

1. Why do we need to study the beginning of life? Give at

least five (5) reasons.

2. Based on what you learned on the beginning of life

forms until how life began, which among the topics struck
you most? Explain by giving your self-realizations.