Comparative Study
doi: 10.1126/science.1621096.Evidence that eukaryotes and eocyte prokaryotes are immediate relatives
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- PMID:1621096
- DOI: 10.1126/science.1621096
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Comparative Study
Evidence that eukaryotes and eocyte prokaryotes are immediate relatives
M C Rivera et al. Science..
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Abstract
The phylogenetic origin of eukaryotes has been unclear because eukaryotic nuclear genes have diverged substantially from prokaryotic ones. The genes coding for elongation factor EF-1 alpha were compared among various organisms. The EF-1 alpha sequences of eukaryotes contained an 11-amino acid segment that was also found in eocytes (extremely thermophilic, sulfur-metabolizing bacteria) but that was absent in all other bacteria. The related (paralogous) genes encoding elongation factor EF-2 and initiation factor IF-2 also lacked the 11-amino acid insert. These data imply that the eocytes are the closest surviving relatives (sister taxon) of the eukaryotes.
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