Early Life On Earth: Principles of Biology

Early Evolution of Life
Early Life on Earth

• Evidence for early life on Earth comes from geology and the fossil record.
• The history of Earth is customarily divided into three eons: the Archaean, Proteozoic, and
Phanerozoic.
• The first single-celled organisms appeared in the Archaean eon.
• The first eukaryotes and multicellular organisms appeared in the Proterozoic eon. Animals
appeared toward the end of this eon, but most of their evolution occurred during the
Phanerozoic eon.
Principles of Biology
Figure 1 History of life on Earth.
Fossils tell the history of life on Earth.

The changes scientists observed in the
life forms preserved as fossils are the
basis of the divisions of the geologic
time scale.
The first cells to evolve were prokaryotes.

• The first evidence of life in the fossil record comes from prokaryotes.
• Fossilized prokaryote communities bound very thin layers of sediment together into rocks
called stromatolites.
• The oldest known stromatolites are approximately 3.5 billion years old. Because these
fossils represent large groups of prokaryotes, the first single prokaryotes may have
evolved much earlier.
Photosynthesis changed the atmosphere.

• Oxygen makes up 21% of the atmosphere now, but the first atmosphere of Earth
contained virtually no oxygen.
• Oxygen levels rose dramatically between 2.5 and 2 billion years ago.
Figure 2 Atmospheric oxygen levels on Earth over the last 4 billion years.
The red line shows the estimated oxygen level in the

atmosphere over the last 4 billion years, inferred from
fossil evidence.
Photosynthesis changed the atmosphere.

• As photosynthetic prokaryotes, probably similar to cyanobacteria found on Earth today,
colonized the oceans, they gave off more and more oxygen.
• Bacteria reproduce exponentially and so oxygen levels rose very rapidly.
• Oxygen is reactive; in certain forms, it damages cells and enzymes.
• Any cells that could use oxygen productively were more likely to survive and reproduce.
This selective pressure ultimately led to the evolution of eukaryotes.
How did eukaryotes evolve?

• The nuclear envelope and endoplasmic reticulum resemble the cell membrane in
composition, and they probably evolved from the cell membrane folding in on itself.
• The earliest identifiable fossil eukaryotes date from approximately 2.1 billion years ago.
Controversy.
The endosymbiont theory of eukaryotic evolution holds that mitochondria evolved from free-
living bacteria that had been engulfed by early cells.
Figure 3 Lynn Margulis.
Her endosymbiont theory met with initial

opposition, but after new research
techniques brought more evidence to
light, it came to be widely accepted.
How did multicellularity evolve?

• Single-celled eukaryotes evolved into multicellular eukaryotes.
• The earliest known examples of single-celled eukaryotes are multicellular algae, which
appear in the fossil record approximately 1.2 billion years ago.
• Between 575 and 535 million years ago, fossils of soft-bodied multicellular creatures
appear, collectively referred to as the Ediacaran biota.
Figure 6 Multicellular fossil.
This proterozoic fossil is of one of the earliest animals.

Philip Donoghue and his colleagues used X-ray
microscopy to show how early multicellular embryos
develop.
How did multicellularity evolve?

• Between 535 and 525 million years ago, during the Cambrian period of the Paleozoic era,
an amazing diversity of life forms appears in the fossil record. Animals with hard body
parts, bones, and shells appeared for the first time.
• The period of sudden diversification between 535 and 525 million years ago is called the
Cambrian explosion. Although most animals from this time look nothing like any animal on
Earth today, they were the ancestors of most present-day animals.
Figure 7 The Cambrian explosion.
Many new species evolved in a short

period of time in the Cambrian period.
Life eventually adapted to land.

• To adapt to terrestrial environments, photosynthetic organisms needed to avoid drying out.
• By 420 million years ago, land plants approximately 4 inches (10 cm) tall had evolved with
a vascular system that transported water and nutrients up from the ground.
• Arthropods, the group of animals that includes insects, were the first animals to colonize
land. They also appear in the fossil record approximately 420 million years ago.
• Tetrapods are four-limbed animals that probably evolved from a particular group of fish. All
mammals descended from tetrapods, including humans.
Figure 8 Bronchi and lungs.
Bronchi branch off the trachea and

further branch multiple times into
smaller and smaller air way vessels, the
bronchioles (black and grey-translucent
staining). These branches are like a
network of roots penetrating deep into
the lung that facilitate gas exchange
inside lung tissue. In this image, some
blood vessels (red), branches of the
pulmonary artery, are also visible.

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Early Evolution of Life

Early Life on Earth

Fossils tell the history of life on Earth.

The first cells to evolve were prokaryotes.

Photosynthesis changed the atmosphere.

The red line shows the estimated oxygen level in the

Photosynthesis changed the atmosphere.

How did eukaryotes evolve?

Her endosymbiont theory met with initial

How did multicellularity evolve?

This proterozoic fossil is of one of the earliest animals.

How did multicellularity evolve?

Many new species evolved in a short

Life eventually adapted to land.

Bronchi branch off the trachea and

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