Researchers update the tree of life: bacteria are masters of the world

    Men have always liked to place themselves at the center of the world, to consider themselves the most important creatures. Yet, among the living beings that populate the Earth, our species is in a clear minority: to be the masters, numerically speaking, are the bacteria, as shown by a very recent update of the tree of life, carried out by researchers at the University of Berkeley, in California, and Waterloo, Canada.



    Men have always liked to place themselves at the center of the world, to consider themselves the most important creatures. And yet, among the living beings that populate the Earth, our species is in a clear minority: numerically speaking, it is the bacteria, as shown by a very recent update of the tree of life, made by researchers at the Universities of Berkeley, California, and Waterloo, Canada.



    THEtree of Life it is a scheme that aims to visually represent the complex of living beings present on Earth, showing their joints and evolutionary lines. The first was elaborated by Charles Darwin in 1837 and since then numerous adjustments and updates have followed, thanks to the increase and progressive improvement of knowledge in the biological field.

    A New View of the Tree of Life, a contribution recently appeared in the magazine Nature Microbiology, is the umpteenth step forward in this fascinating story, which reconstructs the state of life on our planet. The article indeed offers a full-bodied update of the tree of life, redesigning it and bringing out new balances.

    The most evident fact is that the living beings that we know and that we see every day around us - such as animals and plants - are but a small minority: in the tree of life they end up in a branch at the bottom right, among the eukaryotes, right together with us humans.

    The world is instead dominated by bacteria, very small organisms of which we are not aware but which, numerically speaking, are much more relevant than us.

    Researchers update the tree of life: bacteria are masters of the world

    Researchers update the tree of life: bacteria are masters of the world

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    The update is the result of a research work that lasted about fifteen years, during which scientists have identified over a thousand new types of bacteria and archaea (or archaea): hence, the need to review and reorganize the architecture of the tree of life, in order to include the new discoveries.

    A process that cannot be considered complete: scientists are ready to bet that other organisms are waiting to be discovered and that current knowledge on biology and biochemistry will gradually be revolutionized.



    For the layman, however, this update of the tree of life is just another, fascinating confirmation of how rich and precious the world we live in is.


    Lisa Vagnozzi

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