Theoretical origin of life;stromatolite fossil due to virus (Introduction)

by David Turell , Sunday, February 21, 2021, 22:28 (1371 days ago) @ David Turell

An unproven theory:

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-stromatolitesfossils-earliest-life-earthmay-viruses.html

"'Stromatolites are pervasive in the fossil record and are some of our earliest examples of life on Earth," he says.

"'The microbial mats that created them were predominantly made up of cyanobacteria, which used photosynthesis—like plants do—to turn sunlight into energy, while producing so much oxygen over time they changed the early Earth's atmosphere to make it habitable for complex life.

"'You could say we owe our very existence to these living rocks."

***

"In the paper, the authors postulate that microbial mat transition from soft cells to rock is enhanced by interactions with viruses.

"'We propose viruses may have a direct or indirect impact on microbial metabolisms that govern the transition from microbial mat to stromatolite," he says.

"In the direct impact scenario, viruses infiltrate the nucleus of the cyanobacteria and influence the host metabolism, inserting and removing genes that increase the fitness of the virus and the host at the same time.

"'This, in turn, increases survival of the microbial mat and selects for genes that potentially influence carbonate precipitation—basically the process of microbes pouring the concrete to make their stromatolite apartment blocks," A/Prof. Burns says.

"In the indirect scenario, the scientists talk about a process known as viral lysis, where viruses invade living cells and trigger the disintegration of their membranes and release of contents—effectively bringing about cell death.

"'We think viral lysis may release material that promotes metabolism of organisms which results in mineral precipitation and eventual stromatolite formation."

"Whether viruses cause the microbial mats to harden into stromatolites directly or indirectly, or a combination of both, A/Prof. Burns says more research is needed."

Comment: All theory, no proof, but somehow the giant clumps of cyanobacteria fossilized to allow us to see very early life on Earth.