Question

Evolution of Diversity. Two of the major transitions that occurred in the evolution of life on earth, long before any plants or animals were around, involved the evolution of cyanobacteria and later the first eukaryotic organisms.

(A) Approximately when did the first cyanobacteria evolve, and what made them so different from earlier photoautotrophs? Describe at least TWO ways that cyanobacteria changed the physical conditions on Earth and eventually paved the way for the evolution of other organisms.

Answer 1

The evidence of evolution of cyanobacteria comes from the first oxygenation of environment. On the origination of the aerobic photosynthesis and oxygenic potential it has crucial role in adding oxygen to the environment. Since the oxygenation environment is detected 2.3 billion years ago so we conclude that cyanobacteria was also evoluated approximately 2.3 billions year ago.

This phototroph is totally different from the previous evolved photographs. Before this evolution all the bacterias which are phototrophs have bacterial chlorophyll which uses light energy and converts hydrogen sulphide into energy products. But cyanobacteria is a prokaryotic organism which contains a primitive structure name plastid which is present now in the chlorophyll of plants which uses light energy to convert water into two energy products and oxygen.

They are also called as blue green algae.

They changed the physical condition on the earth in many ways during the evolution.

1) they are the first organisms which are helpful in releasing oxygen or in the oxygenation of the earth's environment.

2) they are most helpful in the cultivation of the rice and beans as fertilizer by providing nitrogen.

3) they have a great contribution in the evolution of the plants they developed as a endosymbiont in the plant cells which help the plant cell to photosynthesize with the help of sunlight.

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