This page contains a popular press article about LUCA, the last universal common ancestor. The majority of the article focuses on the relatively recent eukaryotic LUCA hypothesis, covering the supporting data and points of debate. Prokaryote-first hypotheses are briefly introduced for historical perspective. This article provides an excellent overview that would be accessible to high school or higher levels students and teachers.
Subject: Biology, Diversity, Evolution, Evolution:Patterns, Processes, Biology:Microbiology, Molecular Biology Resource Type: Scientific Resources, Overview/Reference Work Grade Level: Middle (6-8), High School (9-12), General PublicKeywords: LUCA, last universal common ancestor, tree of life, molecular phylogenetics, RNA polymerase, prokaryote, eukaryote
