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Topic 11
Evolution Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Hypercycle Model | A model for the evolution of early life involving multiple types of replicators, each of which facilitates the replication of another in cyclical fashion. |
| Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) | The population of organisms at the base of the tree of life. All living things today are descended from this one lineage. |
| Minimal Gene Set | The hypothetical minimal number of genes thought necessary to allow for cellular-based life. |
| Molecular Mutualism | When different molecules act such that they increase each other's rate of replication. |
| Mutualism | An ecological interaction in which different individuals, often of different species, act so as to increase each other's fitness. |
| Phylogenetic Event Horizon | The point in the history of life beyond which phylogenetic analysis is uninformative because there are no surviving descendants from ancestors before this point. |
| Prebiotic Soup Hypothesis | The idea that the earliest life emerged in a soup-like liquid environment, drawing upon energy from cosmic rays, volcanic eruptions, and the Earth's own internal heat. |
| Protocell | A cell-like entity that predated cellular life-forms in the history of life. |
| Ribozymes | RNA molecules with enzymatic function. |
| RNA World | A hypothetical early stage in the history of life in which RNA was the fundamental unit upon which life was based, fulfilling both an informational role and a catalytic role. |