Pré-Publication, Document De Travail Année : 2024

A robustly rooted tree of eukaryotes reveals their excavate ancestry

Kelsey Williamson
Hector Baños
Charley Mccarthy
Edward Susko
Russell Orr
  • Fonction : Auteur
Alastair Simpson
Andrew Roger

Résumé

SUMMARY The eukaryote Tree of Life (eToL) depicts the relationships among all eukaryotic organisms; its root represents the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA) from which all extant complex lifeforms are descended. Locating this root is crucial for reconstructing the features of LECA, both as the endpoint of eukaryogenesis and the start-point for the evolution of the myriad complex traits underpinning the diversification of living eukaryotes. However, the position of the root remains contentious due to pervasive phylogenetic artefacts stemming from inadequate evolutionary models, poor taxon sampling, and limited phylogenetic signal. Here, we estimate the root of the eToL with unprecedented resolution based on a new, much larger, dataset of mitochondrial proteins which includes all known eukaryotic supergroups. Our comprehensive analyses with state-of-the-art phylogenetic models reveal that the eukaryotic root lies between two multi-supergroup assemblages: ‘Opimoda+’ and ‘Diphoda+’. Compellingly, this position is consistently supported across different models and robustness analyses. Notably, groups containing ‘typical excavates’ are placed on both sides of the root, suggesting the complex features of the ‘excavate’ cell architecture trace back to LECA. This study is the most comprehensive phylogenetic investigation of the eukaryote root to date, shedding light on the ancestral cells from which extant eukaryotes arose and providing a crucial framework for investigating the origin and evolution of canonical eukaryotic features.

Dates et versions

hal-04796810 , version 1 (21-11-2024)

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Citer

Kelsey Williamson, Laura Eme, Hector Baños, Charley Mccarthy, Edward Susko, et al.. A robustly rooted tree of eukaryotes reveals their excavate ancestry. 2024. ⟨hal-04796810⟩
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