Do Animals, Plants, and Fungi All Come From One Ancient Ancestor? — Here’s What Researchers Found

At first glance, a human being, a mushroom, and a giant tree may all look like different lifeforms that have completely different origins. But scientists may have found that they share a single ancient ancestor.

In other words, a fungus that feeds by absorbing nutrients, a plant that makes its own food from sunlight, and an animal species like a human thinking about bills and taxes may all have the same beginnings. This shared ancestor helps explain why our cells could still function the same in some ways while looking completely different from each other.

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What Scientists Mean by “One Ancient Ancestor”

LUCA The Last Universal Common Ancestor of all Life

When scientists refer to the common ancestor of particular groups or species, they often mean that if you go back in time, the family trees of these organisms meet. In the case of animals, fungi, and plants, the last common ancestor was thought to be the LECA or Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor. It has likely lived around 1.5 to 2 billion years ago.

It is estimated that during this time, it was not just a simple cell or bacteria, but rather a form of complex life already. Every animal, fungi, and plant is a eukaryote, and all of their origins can be traced back to LECA. This being likely has a nucleus, mitochondria, and an inner skeleton that allows it to move and retain its shape, traits that almost all Eukaryotes share today.

It is also important to distinguish that LECA, the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor, was not the same as LUCA, the Last Universal Common Ancestor of all life. But LECA likely descended from LUCA’s lineage.

Read more: Wikipedia

How One Cell Line Became So Many Kingdoms

The Evolution of Plants, Fungi and Animals | Tree of Life Ep 3

After LECA, the descendants spread and faced different evolutionary challenges and environments that led to their distinct changes over a period of time. One of the branches formed a partnership with a photosynthetic bacterium, which led to chloroplasts and eventually, algae and plants.

Another branch, split into fungi and animals, where fungi developed abilities to digest and recycle materials from outside of their main bodies. Animals developed muscles, nerves, and much more complex behaviors. But, even if the lifestyles of all these different beings are transformed into their own paths, their cells still carry the one ancient ancestors’ traits, such as a nucleus, mitochondria, and shared genetic systems.

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Author's Final Thoughts

Imagining a human being, a mushroom, and a tall tree all sharing a common ancestor at one point in time sounds absurd, but it just showcases how much adaptation and changes life will persevere through to survive. So, humans are not just related to apes and other animals, but also distant cousins to fungi and plants. These 3 groups show what one kind of cell evolved to over billions of years when faced with different paths and challenges.

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