Abstract
Oldest known microfossils were known to have the most complex of morphologies among prokaryotes. Given the morphology of an organism is governed by information encoded in its genome, it was proposed that these primitive organisms most likely possessed complex molecular biological processes. Here we worked with bacterial protoplasts under environmental conditions of Archaean earth and reproduced morphologies of every known microfossil and associated structures. Contrary to the current presumption, our work suggest that complex morphologies of these microfossils could be explained not by presence but by complete absence of molecular biological mechanisms. Environmental conditions and architecture of the cell membrane are the only factors that determined the morphology of these organisms. Based on our observations we present a case for reinterpretation of Archaean microfossils as protocells that were devoid of complex molecular biological processes rather than annotating them to a particular phylogenetic group of extant bacteria.
One Sentence Summary Microfossils reported from Archaean BIF’s most likely were liposome like protocells, which had evolved mechanisms for energy conservation, but not for regulating cell morphology and replication.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
