New insight into first life

Science - Cath Harris | 04 Oct 10. New genome research at Oxford University could change the way scientists view our evolution. The relationship and emergence of the three 'domains' of life - the three founding branches of the Tree of Life to which all living cells belong - has been much disputed. Two of these domains, Bacteria and Eukaryotes (which includes all animals, plants and fungi) are familiar but less is known of the third: these organisms are collectively called the Archaea. Some species of Archaea are adapted to live in extremes such as the boiling sulphur springs of Yellowstone National Park or the high salt concentrations of the Dead Sea. Others, such as the group Thaumarchaea, are found in more moderate environments including the warm surface waters of oceans. Steven Kelly , of Oxford University's Department of Plant Sciences, tracked the evolutionary history of the three domains by analysing more than 3,500 families of genes in the Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryotes.