Biology 2581B Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Chromosome, Prokaryote, Cyanobacteria
22 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
This is where genes and genomes are found. The evolution & diversi cation of life are the result of genetic changes. All life forms have a genome = set of genetic instructions. Domains have thousands of branches, some lead to organisms that are still alive and some are extinct. Everything that is alive today descends from luca (3. 5 bya) Luca had a genome made of dna, it passed down its genome to all the branches over time. Genetic changes gave rise to different organisms. Before luca, genome was rna - rst genetic instructions contained in a biological compartment were made of rna. They are ancient and probably existed before luca, may have evolved from rna world. Many viruses have an rna genome - unlike cellular life. Viruses with rna genome are the oldest, supporting the theory of rna world. Tree of life has always been thought about as having a vertical ow of genetic information.
