Summary
The earliest fossil stromatolites present evidence of a complex ecosystem of photosynthetic organisms. Because the origin of present life can be dated within a few hundred million years prior to these fossils, their complexity poses a problem. A heuristic model outlines the first radiation leading to the universal ancestor.
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Morowitz, H.J., Deamer, D.W. & Smith, T. Biogenesis as an evolutionary process. J Mol Evol 33, 207–208 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02100670
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02100670