Chronology of major events in the history of life
Prokaryotic organisms were the sole inhabitants of this planet for the first 2-2.5 billion years. To understand such fundamental questions as the nature and origin of the first cell, origin of different types of metabolism, information transfer processes, photosynthesis, origin of the eukaryotic cells, evolution of disease-causing as well as beneficial microbes, a sound understanding of the bacterial (prokaryotic) evolution is essential. The analyses of genome sequence data using new approaches are providing valuable insights in understanding some of these most ancient and important aspects of the evolutionary history of life. This website, presents information using novel comparative genomic approaches, that are helpful in understanding the following critical issues in bacterial/prokaryotic phylogeny:
- Molecular means to clearly define and circumscribe the major groups/subgroups within Bacteria and Archaea in unambiguous terms.
- Means to logically delineate the branching order and hierarchical relationships among the major groups/taxa within Bacteria.
- Criteria for the higher taxonomic ranks within Bacteria.
- Evolutionary relationships among Photosynthetic bacteria.
- Consideration of the relationships between Bacteria and Archaea.
- Assessment of the extant of lateral gene transfer and its impact on Bacterial phylogeny.
- Implications of the Prokaryotic evolution on the Origin of the Eukaryotic cell.
Citation for this webpage (Last update January 2013):
Bacterial (Prokaryotic) Phylogeny Webpage (March 2006). http://www.bacterialphylogeny.com/index.html
This website is maintained by members of the Gupta lab. Information presented here is solely for educational/scientific purposes. All images, text and documents that are from earlier publications, the original source must be referenced. For all other images and documents, permission from the webmaster must be obtained prior to their use in any form. The source of the original images in all cases should be credited to Dr. Radhey Gupta, McMaster University. For questions/comments, please contact (webmaster@bacterialphylogeny.com).