“Our finding brings us a step closer to understanding how this crucial process gave rise to all eukaryotes, including humans,” scientists says.In a discovery that has the potential to transform industries to greener efficiencies, scientists studied archaea, which was described as a microbial ancestor to humans two billion years ago.
The research was undertaken by a team of scientists from Monash University Biomedicine Discovery Institute alongside international collaborators. The study spotlighted how archaea produce energy by consuming and generating hydrogen. This process has made the tiny organisms thrive in some of Earth’s most hostile environments for billions of years, according to a statement by the scientists.
Scientists identified that some archaea produce and use hydrogen with unusual types of enzymes known as -hydrogenases, revealing that these enzymes, previously thought to be restricted to eukaryotes and bacteria, are also present in archaea and exhibit remarkable diversity. Archaea are characterised as single-celled organisms that thrive in extreme environments. The prevailing theory suggests that eukaryotes, like humans, evolved from an ancient fusion of an archaeal cell with a bacterial cell, facilitated by hydrogen gas exchange.“Our finding brings us a step closer to understanding how this crucial process gave rise to all eukaryotes, including humans,” stated Leung.