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To: Right Wing Professor
BWAHAHAHA! So what was the ancestor of a eukaryotic cell before it incorporated organelles? Was it a eukaryote?

Considering the definition of a eukaryotic cell, the answer would have to be "no". Unless it is your contention that the eukaryotic cell and its membrane bound organelles arose spontaneously at once along an evolutionary path independent of the prokaryotic bacteria. If it is your wish to try and set forth such an argument, be my guest.

We know that living prokaryotes invade other prokaryotic cells endoparasitically.

The key being endoparasitically. This sort of like comparing a home invasion robbery to a dinner party. There are a variety of intracellular pathogens, none of which get us any closer to explaining the origin of membrane bound organelles.

We know they invade single celled eukaryotes endsymbiotically, and that they replace mitochondia in some protozoans.

Again, here you deal with the pre-existence of a complex cell establishing endosymbiotic relationships and this gets us no closer to the origin of membrane bound organelles than the symbiotic relationship between a crocodile and Trochilos.

You really need to do a better job of sticking to evidence that deals with the specific point under discussion. To refresh your memory, that has to do with the evolution of eukaryotes from a single celled organism without membrane bound organelles through endocytosis that leads to symbiosis.
573 posted on 04/20/2006 1:51:46 PM PDT by Old_Mil (http://www.constitutionparty.org - Forging a Rebirth of Freedom.)
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To: Old_Mil
The key being endoparasitically. This sort of like comparing a home invasion robbery to a dinner party.

Parasitism is just a form of symbiosis. Parasitism grades into commensalism which grades into mutualism, and often is the initial step in the evolution of mutualism.

(On the other hand, so do home invasions and dinner parties. What about a guest who steals your silverware?)

Again, here you deal with the pre-existence of a complex cell establishing endosymbiotic relationships and this gets us no closer to the origin of membrane bound organelles than the symbiotic relationship between a crocodile and Trochilos.

  1. Small prokaryote invades large prokaryote parasitically.
  2. Parasite evolves not to kill its host, improving its own survival.
  3. Parasitism eventually evovles into mutualism, so that both benefit from the symbiosis
  4. Mutualism becomes obligate; eventually one organism loses much of its independent biochemistry.

Please identify the step you claim is impossible.

All these steps are seen, sometimes separately, sometimes all together, in symbiotic relationships.You have posted no good reason why they could not have occured in the evolution of eukaryotes. In fact, the only missing element is that AFAIK we haven't yet identified a clearly mutualistic relationship between a prokaryotic endosymbiont and a prokaryotic host. And of course we also have the genomic evidence that mitochondria and chloroplasts evolved from distinct free living organsims, such as the fact that they have prokaryotic ribosomes.

To refresh your memory, that has to do with the evolution of eukaryotes from a single celled organism without membrane bound organelles through endocytosis that leads to symbiosis.

And I gave you a series of examples in the first link I posted. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt. Bacteria are known to engage in endosymbiotic relationships with other bacteria. All the handwaving in the world won't wave that away.

577 posted on 04/20/2006 2:13:15 PM PDT by Right Wing Professor
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