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The “Micro” Story of Life - The “Micro” Biome (Ep. 1)

The “road” from the “beginnings” of life to every living thing

(Romanian)

We covered “Terra”, and “Water”, and We made some introductions related to the “World of Souls”, it’s time to move on to more “serious” “stories”… Life.

A long, long “story” not only due to the many evolutionary steps towards You, the “human being” but also a kind of compliance to “Your Understanding”, from the “ordinary” reader to the more “advised” readers for this moment of Your perception.

For Us it is simple… We know all that is… But all on what would be a “level of knowledge”. In fact, as in the case of your…

This is how We began the journey toward You, the people, and everything that will follow… This is it! Let’s start in some way!

In the “First Universe”, then in the second, the “Universe of Symmetry”, we experienced the forms of “life” that laid the foundations of the life of the “microbiome” type in this material universe, explicitly created for the evolution of life in matter, possible only under the empire of the time.

In Your years, it took less than 4 billion years to rebuild the microbiome-like structures and begin the development of groups of organisms originally made of…Communities of cells. Communities quickly attracted the need to organize into organisms, into what you call individual “Beings”.

For Us, it is a confusing term because a living organism is a community of cells structured and organized to exist in the individual, “Living Being” perception. The purpose is the representation “in the image and likeness” of the main, coordinating energy entity.

But, again, for Us, the confusion of this kind of “individual” delineation persists because, in reality, everything is one organism, just as we, the energy entities, are one organism, that of the “Presence”, of “Oneness” or other similar interpretations.

Returning to the development of “life”, We have achieved what we set out to do, the living entities to enable the manifestation of energetic entities, in a corner of the material universe located very, very far from the material placement of your universe area.

But that did not attract the manifestation balance of closing the contradictions of our ensemble, but diversified it. Diversification attracted “inside” the 4 billion years of initial development, migrating to other material areas in this universe and initiating known processes to proceed to close the newly “discovered” contradictions.

Your imagination cannot perceive where it has arrived. But I can make some “descriptions” for you to understand “how much” about what interests you.

Even from the first “migration” or “population”, perceive what you see fit, the conclusion was reached that the processes could not be repeated identically, to have comparability, to be able to address the same type of contradiction that could be identified a be a kind of “starting point”.

Each area of material manifestation attracted its possibilities of development, specific to the environment where the development took place, despite our efforts at “similarity”, for example, to the processes that you would describe as a kind of “terraforming”.

This “terraforming” is based on the development of the microbiome that will be the basis and will be found in all living beings that will develop later.

This situation has attracted the development of more and more activity groups of entities. A kind of grouping according to preferences and, above all, according to the level of knowledge. The fact attracted a kind of “self-selection” of the entities to the areas of maximum compatibility of their interests to participate in closing the contradictions.

Something like “Pleiade compatibles” would gather in that area, or those who found themselves more compatible with “Sirians from the Sirius area” would leave the Pleiadian area and “regroup” in the Sirius area, and so on… Arcturian, Draconian, Centaurian, Bernarian, Bootean, Cetian, etc (there are many more “zones” than you can imagine).

These areas are much more than you might imagine. This certainly is how the dependence on the group, not necessarily on the medium of manifestation, appeared among the entities. And the “variants” of manifestation have developed more than you can imagine.

Thus, for example, a group in the area of what You call the “Solar System Zone” where you are now has ceased and closed all that would be their circle of conflict manifestation. And they moved into areas of manifestation compatible with their new level of contradictions.

And that star, no longer supporting its activity, “gave in” becoming a supernova. Your level of knowledge does not allow me to give you more details.

I can only tell you that a group somewhat less “endowed” with knowledge, experience, and the like, called for “next-level” development in this area. And they set about reorganizing matter into what is now for You, the “Solar System”.

Being “beginners” in manifesting contradictions in the matter of this “zone”, but benefiting from the “knowledge” accumulated by the previous group, they created a concentration of 4 (four) planets in the “water” efficiency zone, which cost them “ an enormous amount” of wasted effort until they succeed in stabilizing a planet, the one you call Earth, where you are and we are evolving together now.

The fact is that we succeeded, and this is how you receive our “stories”. So now let’s move on to descriptions compatible with Your knowledge!

The first organic “traces”, literally deposits, are found in sedimentary rocks 4.3–4.4 billion years old (only 1–200 million years after the impact with Theia and the formation of the moon). Surprised?!? How is this possible?!?

Well, I pointed out that there was no water on Earth because it was much too hot, and its atmosphere was composed, in addition to gases, of a veritable “aerial” ocean of water, constantly fed by water falling on the Earth’s crust, and it reached the atmosphere quickly, hot.

This process favored a gradual cooling of the Earth’s crust and, obviously, the storage of water from the atmosphere on the Earth’s crust, in direct balance with the drop in atmospheric pressure. Scientists have estimated that, initially, the atmospheric pressure was around 400 atmospheres, decreasing over time to 2 atmospheres…

Well, this massive pressure drop also had a collateral effect, represented by the fact that it “helped” the transfer of CO2 into carbonate minerals, which were deposited, over time, on the bottom of the oceans. These are the sediments in which organic traces of fatty acids and sugars were discovered.

So, it can be deduced from the above that life “started on the road” faster than anyone expected.

It is the period between 4.4 billion years (the Hadean period of the Precambrian, after the Theia impact) and 4.2 billion years (the end of the 100 million-year period of intense meteorite bombardment, of the probable comet and the remnants of the impact with Theia) is the moment of the state of early life (proto-life).

Then there would be the comparison of the great bombardment with the moment of impact with Theia (Lucifer), which many consider to be a real “first” Armageddon of Earth. Life could not “pass” this test… Really?!?

My opinion, as you will see further on, is that life had passed the test of “Dante’s Inferno” represented by Terra in formation, so had it passed the “Theia Inferno”, and life had passed every kind of obstacle, as it will be proven later.

Earth had once been a liquid globe of magma, and life found its way. How is this possible?!? Maybe with the help of a divine power?!? For Earth, in those “times”, We constantly practice the applicability of previous knowledge from the “early” Universe and the other “corners” of this material universe.

Let’s come back! In this period (the one after the impact with Theia) came the impact with a comet that brought a lot, a lot of water to Earth (there may have been water on Theia and this comet was no longer needed — ?!?), water which “helped” a lot the development of life, in its form at that time, extremophilic (especially thermophilic), unicellular and anaerobic (the water intake brought by the “Great Bombardment” is also valid).

Be that as it may, now Earth was the “World of Waters”, waters covering over 90% of its surface. However, the oceans were extremely toxic, with a high salinity content (more than 4 times more than today) and with a particularly high metal content, so there was no question of a certain “other” form of life or assimilable with it.

However, one cannot fail to notice that the world of RNA was “evolving” (possibly being) 4.2 billion years ago, in the form of extremophiles. The theories that “try” to explain these “phenomena” are based on some assumptions.

One of these would be the theory of panspermia which “states” that life would come from outside our solar system (or from another planet, for example, Mars) either using material remains carrying spores, organic remains, or something similar (supporting on the finding that many star systems are within 100 light-years of our solar system), or that the transport was mediated by extraterrestrial intelligence that carried out a kind of insemination of the Earth.

Another hypothesis would be that of the “automatism” of the appearance of life by simply “calling” on the chemical elements and their structuring, whether accidental or through a divine intervention that created the universe by programming the mandatory appearance of life. Theory that is also supported by studies of water and its qualities.

To this last theory, of “automatism”, the entire scientific world joins, many experiments proving, each to its extent, that from the chemical elements existing at that time, the organic structures that could be at the origins of the evolution of life, as it was then, quickly appeared (where, in particular, oxidizing agents were missing — all the planets of the solar system have “reducing” atmospheres, rich in N2 (mostly), CH4, CO2, CO, H2S, NH3 and there is geological evidence that O2 was very rare (0.001%) in the Earth’s atmosphere until 2.2 billion years ago — when it is assumed (based on geological “evidence”) that a kind of “oxygen” Armageddon occurred that effectively killed off most of the anaerobic life forms that existed then).

This “event” has been called the “Great Oxidation Event” or “Oxidation Catastrophe”, occurring during the Paleoproterozoic era (starting 2.46–2.42 billion years ago in the Siderian Period, ending about 2 billion years ago, in the Rhyacian).

But, from the deductions of scientists, also from these sedimentary deposits, it was necessary that in the period between 4.2 and 3.8 billion years ago, there was an “RNA World”. From Earth’s point of view, it is just the time of the initiation of the formation of the tectonic plates and the manifestations related to them…

From the point of view of life, this was a period when the subduction of tectonic plates “transported” the “carbonic” sediments and those of heavy metals under the earth’s crust, into the mantle, inducing a decrease in the acidity of the then existing ocean waters, which became increasingly as easy as possible for the manifestation of life.

Additionally, 4.2 billion years ago, it is estimated that the Earth’s liquid core stabilized, the convection between it and the layers of the mantle causing the appearance of a strong magnetic field that protected the Earth from solar and cosmic wind radiation and favored atmospheric retention.

It is considered that, only from this moment, the Earth was ready for the evolution of life, even if the atmosphere of those times did not allow sunlight to reach “unfiltered” the Earth’s crust or the oceans.

But proto-life developed in oceans, grottoes, caves, or the like. It is assumed that the most favorable areas for development were those near the underwater volcanic chimneys, as well as the caves/grottoes of the geysers.

These areas permanently received various materials and minerals that quickly led to the formation of amino acids, phosphoric acid, and nucleic bases (nucleotides) in areas where the water did not exceed 80–90 degrees Celsius, thus protecting new bio-molecule formats.

Then the water circuit intervenes… The protected areas have a reductive character, the surface areas have an oxidative character, and, thus, there are all the necessary conditions to synthesize biomolecules.

This water circuit was also greatly amplified by the “approach” of the moon, which produced tidal movements immensely greater than those of our times, creating constant “wet-dry” cycles even at the level of small puddles or lakes on the land surfaces near large accumulations of water.

This “wet-dry” cycle is thought to have been the most crucial factor in producing the building blocks of life, such as fatty acids, ribose, and others.

It would be “useful” to perceive the conditions of those times by imagining a man of “science” using that environment, preparing his substances in large vessels, where everything boils, mixes, cools, under constantly induced electrical storms, decanting, re-mixing, centrifugation, pyrolysis, electrolysis, blah, blah…

Everything is done either at the level of the whole Earth or customized, in different areas, under the joint effort of some entities, under the guidance, possibly the coordination of “more experienced” energy entities (who have done something similar before), etc. But let me come back!

An important factor was the tendency to accumulate fatty acids, which quickly encapsulated capsules with different organic elements (especially amino acids). Here, in this closed environment, under the “wet-dry” cycling, polymerization phenomena constantly progressed, resulting in the first basic elements of proteins, such as oligopeptides that acted as catalysts for the subsequent processes of producing bio-molecules from increasingly complex.

In the “proof” of these developments are the experiments of Aleksandr Oparin, Stanley Miller, and Harold Urey, who managed to create organic substances (especially amino acids) in the simulated conditions of those times (in a “prebiotic soup” or “primordial soup”). But let’s go further on the “alley of time”!

Even if there were “necessary and sufficient” conditions for the initiation of life, it seems that the existence of macromolecules was needed. And, it has been scientifically proven (through experiments) that proteins, nucleic acids can polymerize to form macromolecules.

The primordial world, being a world of magma and the earth’s crust in incipient formation, benefiting from very small “resources” of water, very easily attracted the possibility of situations that favored the synthesis of polymers through dehydration (in an aquatic environment, this possibility “ fell” due to hydrolysis).

And, it was discovered that a mixture of amino acids spontaneously polymerizes at a temperature of 130 degrees Celsius, adenylated amino acids polymerize at 60 degrees, and so on.

In addition, it has been shown that the addition of CO to such a mixture has a “preference” to create stable peptide bonds between amino acids. Thus it was deduced that a kind of “primordial soup” was dried (literally) on hot rocks, becoming a kind of “primordial pizza” where the necessary polymerization of macromolecules was achieved without problems.

In addition, there was (and is) Zn (zinc) on Earth, which is a cofactor for RNA polymerization. And, from the formation of the first RNA elements, it was only a step until the self-copying processes specific to RNA began (attention, for the uninitiated/laymen, DNA is a kind of data bank, a kind of data storage on the hard disk, not having the slightest participation in protein syntheses as RNA has, except as a kind of “informant” role place for RNA enzymes regarding the product/reaction that comes out of the standard reaction pattern of RNA, helped by the availability of nucleic acids from those “primordial soups”).

In this sense, Spiegelman and his colleagues demonstrated without a doubt that RNA reacts immediately, directly proportional to the availability of the environment.

And so proto-RNA appeared, which combined with various enzymes, then these “compounds” evolved into ribosomes that could replicate themselves… Don’t forget that all of this was done inside fatty acid capsules ( forming proto-cells), a process quite similar to actual cells whose membranes are “structurally” made of lipid bilayers.

This would be the state of life “capable” of reproduction.

OK, now we have macromolecules. And, until the first prokaryotic cell, we only needed the isolation made by a membrane. And, the scientists “set out” to prove that the formation of compartmentalized systems is possible. They were not surprised when they discovered that phospholipids quickly form bilayered membranes with “inner” micelles.

This type of membrane is found in most cells and is the most efficient structure that leads to selective permeability and the accumulation of specific chemical elements and structures (including organics, amino acids, macromolecules, etc.).

And, thus, the mixture of polymers, having a membrane, immediately forms coacervates, the first existential form that can be associated with cells and which is the basis of the theory of abiogenesis (origins of life without “external” interventions).

And let’s not forget that RNA existed and could self-reproduce. Since then, numerous models have been developed to explain the subsequent evolution of life, but they are too complicated to present here (and bore you with so much science).

In a kind of spirit of fair play (in a kind of “right to the replica”) I can mention the fact that lipids can be synthesized by such “prebiotic formations” but these lipids cannot be used for the “generation” of subsequent lipid bilayers, there being only some “suggestions” that RNA structures have evolved with the ability to “train the internal environment” of such closed systems (especially based on selective permeability properties) to generate such layers in a reparative sense (and later support of the division) and, thus, solving the problem of the genesis of such elements necessary for the primordial cell membranes.

It is interesting that, under these conditions, life found the path of manifestation towards the exploitation of sunlight, the development of proto-life, passing to the second level of manifestation.

Thus, a true metabolism is “developed” that converts light energy into electrochemical energy, using it directly or storing it in sugars for later use as an energy source in the absence of solar energy.

This is how the leap was made from “volcanic energy”, radioactive deposits, etc., to the exploitation of sunlight. And, importantly, it was also during this period that proto-cellular membranes developed a mechanism to prevent metal ions from ocean water from penetrating inside.

There was another mechanism that ensured the evolutionary success of the proto-cells, represented by the possibility of merging between these proto-cells and, effectively, the combination into increasingly complex forms.

Consider that current life forms use only 20 types of amino acids to perceive the “force” of this ability! Effectively, this certifies the fact that these amino acids also existed at the level of these proto-cells, including their “descendants”.

According to the findings, in these proto-cells, RNA evolved from unstable forms, especially due to ionizing radiation, to circular RNA forms, from which it was only a simple evolutionary step to the double helix structure of DNA.

Yes, you read that right, the first form of manifestation of life was RNA!!! DNA and its metabolism were “detected in the sediments” only in the interval of 100 million years that followed this “keystone” point of 3.8 billion years ago.

Thus, the appearance of DNA, a much more stable and much better-structured information storage structure (even if it depends on RNA-type structures and enzymes), reached the third stage of the birth of proto-life, that of the appearance of prokaryotic cells, the ancestors of what we now describe as Archaea and Bacteria.

Only 3.5 billion years ago discovered (in sediments) the first prokaryotic cell (prokaryote microfossils — prokaryotes are cells that do not have cell organelles protected by membranes, such as the Golgi apparatus and other complex intracellular structures, lacking, in particular, nucleoli and the nuclear envelope), this “point” is considered to be the place of “origin” of photosynthesis.

But some time passed before the appearance of photosynthesis. The evolutionary period of the origins of photosynthesis spans a long time interval, between 3.5 and 2.8 billion years ago.

Oxygen, in free form, without “bonds” to another molecule, is toxic to life because it reduces the reductive capacity of a living organism. This proves, even indirectly, that the first photosynthetic organism was an anaerobic microbe that “avoided” the production of oxygen.

But the “Great Oxidation Event” (mentioned earlier) occurred, and over about 400 million years, the concentration of molecular oxygen (O2) increased to values greater than 10%. This increase led to the extinction of more than 80% of the then-existing biosphere but also attracted the adaptation of the “remaining” biosphere (which evolved “accelerated” also due to the supply of additional nutrients from the biosphere that was “lost”).

This apparent “extinction” was, in reality, an adaptation of the development of life based on “acclimatization”, constant adaptation to the new environmental conditions, conditions that manifested themselves permanently, as in Your days, to the ecology of the global environment, by no means individually. So it was not an “extinction” similar to those to come, such as the “Cretaceous” extinction.

Later, due to “extra” energy needs, life was forced to turn to oxygen as a valuable and relatively present (oxygen was relatively easily obtained from the “reduction of water,” resulting in hydrogen and oxygen) source of energy.

The first life forms that “developed” photosynthesis were cyanobacteria. The success of these life forms is confirmed by the huge deposits of iron oxide that were formed during that period, due to the release of oxygen by the life forms, the planetary ocean being cleaned of iron over time, reaching the blue color of today.

As a detail, cyanobacteria participated in iron sedimentation long before (evidence of their action being dated 3.5 billion years ago), the first deposits of oxidized iron (FeO, Fe2O3, and Fe3O4) being geologically confirmed to have formed 2.5 billion years ago. The oxidation process certainly had its maximum amplitude in the time interval between 2.2 and 1.9 billion years.

Now appear, with certainty, the first jellyfish (?!? — the result of the first cellular symbioses) and the first unicellular algae (prokaryotes with anaerobic metabolism), and the formation of stromatolite sediments begins, which will be discovered nowadays and will attest to these statements about the “age of life”.

They continued their evolution, forming massive stromatolite colonies and permanently releasing oxygen, changing the oxygen composition of the atmosphere to what we know today.

And the life in these stromatolites (something very similar to today’s coral reefs) goes on, like the evolution of the cells and algae that generated them (stromatolites are sedimentary formations that are formed by the deposition of mineral substances, layer by layer, by the forms of life that produce a mineral “residue” of metabolism — thus, generation after generation, this layer becomes thicker and thicker and forms a kind of mound, called stromatolite).

And thus photosynthesis appears… The fact is that the first sediments that prove the existence of photosynthesis are dated as being 2.5 billion years old (the end of the Archean period of the Precambrian — but let’s not forget that it takes time to create sediments and, thus, the appearance of photosynthesis, as we know it today, is placed somewhere 2.8 billion years ago).

This is the moment when geologists confirm the formation of the first continents, and the existing life forms begin to “benefit” from the “support” of the continental coasts. This support gave impetus to the development of life forms that benefit more and more from the processes of photosynthesis, and thus life (especially through the algae in the “coastal” stromatolites) begins to produce more and more oxygen.

Not only do the forms of cyanobacteria evolve, but also the prokaryotic cells that specialized as endosymbiotic systems and thus attracted the specialization of cellular organelles and the appearance of the nucleus, delimiting what would be the eukaryotic cell.

The first organelles to form seem to have been the mitochondria (which even today retain their “functioning” based on circular RNA) and the chloroplasts which allow obtaining energy through oxygen (which at that time was usable without problems ).

Another important specialization was the development of an internal membrane (the nuclear membrane) to protect the nascent RNA from oxygen. This need for protection was because, through evolution, the need for genetic storage increased enormously, and RNA was “forced” to “transform” into DNA.

Thus, at the beginning of the Proterozoic period (2.5 billion years ago) of the Precambrian (which will “last” until 545 million years ago), we reached the first glaciation (the Huronian glaciation, 2.1 billion years ago, caused by cleaning the atmosphere of greenhouse gases, especially methane) but also to the first fossils large enough and evolved to be considered eukaryotic, 1.7 billion years ago.

Eukaryotes are cells thousands (even millions) of times larger than prokaryotes and delimit a kind of crossing over a threshold of energy yield, being able to evolve independently of universal entropy.

Then, 1.2 billion years ago, meiosis and sexual reproduction appeared (although there is clear evidence that this also existed in the “RNA world” 2 billion years ago), being the moment of a real explosion of multicellular life forms, even if most consist of colonies of cells of limited complexity.

There are some “interpretations” regarding the eukaryotes of those times, but it is generally recognized that most certain eukaryotic structures are at least 900 million years old.

From the studies, it was discovered that eukaryotes appeared as a result of symbiosis processes (collaboration) between prokaryotes, to facilitate metabolic processes (endosymbiotic theory) against the background of the appearance of proto-DNA (at least circular DNA, the one found in mitochondria of eukaryotes) through the evolution of RNA.

In this sense, the internal structure of eukaryotes “benefits” from most of the internal elements of prokaryotes, the mitochondria, chloroplasts, and flagella being clearly of symbiotic origin.

The line of “development” starts from Monera (prokaryotes, eubacteria, and archaeobacteria) and then, separately, as follows: 1. cyanobacteria (which “take over” photosynthesis) will lead to Plantae (together with the future protista), 2. paracocci with respiration and thermoplasma with fermentation “enter” symbiosis and give birth to proto eukaryotic cells (determining mitochondrial symbiosis) to which spirochetes with motility “stick” resulting in the protist genus, with the first eukaryotic cell and with microtubular symbiosis (with algae, protozoa and others) from which result, in the end, 3. fungi and 4. Animalia.

So, the horizontal transfer of symbiotic organisms is particularly important for the emergence of eukaryotes. At this “level,” RNA and DNA are very similar to those existing at the level of prokaryotes and many other similarities (that’s enough — the post is becoming too scientific)…

Unicellular eukaryotic organisms also evolve, benefiting from the experience stored in the DNA of the precursors, completing the DNA of the descendants. And, life continued its course by developing new symbiotic relationships until, 1.2 billion years ago, the first multicellular organism appeared (jellyfish, sponges, and other similar “things”).

This road will pass through the great test of the “ice planet”, 700 (according to “others” 600) million years ago, when for tens of millions of years the Earth was an “ice globe”, the period being called the Cryogenian glaciation.

Even if the “White Earth” (ice globe) could be assimilated to the non-existence of life, this “stage” had an essential role in creating the environment most conducive to life… I will elaborate a little…

The ocean waters back then were more than 4 times saltier than now… However, the “big ice ball” didn’t form all of a sudden, nor did it disappear all of a sudden. At its beginning, there was a series of small glaciations that extracted “fresh” water and stored it in glaciers, causing a significant increase in the salinity of ocean waters.

But, the tectonic movements allowed the storage of the remaining salt as a result of the evaporation of the waters, deposits that later “entered” the composition of the earth’s crust, isolating themselves from possible contact with water and, over time, desalinating the oceans.

During the “great thaw,” the process was repeated according to the previously presented “algorithm,” and the salinity decreased even more… This process continued according to a relatively similar mechanism after this period as well.

It is only certain that the planetary oceans have become much more conducive to “life” through a kind of purification of the aquatic environment that has become much more permeable for the circulation of minerals and nutrients so necessary for the development of life.

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