PortalsOS

Eukaryotes are significant because they represent a singularity in the history of life on Earth, arising once about 2 billion years ago. This event gave rise to all complex life, despite bacteria and archaea having a greater genetic repertoire.

The adaptation of cells to internal selection pressures, rather than external environments, may explain why single-celled algae and complex multicellular organisms share similar cellular structures.

The necessity of large genomes in multicellular organisms is driven by the need to minimize genetic conflict between cells, ensuring that all cells work towards the same goal of survival and reproduction.

The emergence of eukaryotes is seen as a major bottleneck in the development of complex life. Despite the vast number of planets that could potentially give rise to eukaryotes, it seems this event is incredibly rare, with Earth being a unique example.

The fundamental bottleneck in the evolution of life is not the transition from geochemistry to early life, but rather the development from nucleotides to RNA, DNA, and ribosomes. This suggests that early life forms could be common, but complex life is less so.

Despite the vast number of planets, the unique development of eukaryotes on Earth suggests that while other methods of achieving complexity might exist, they are not easily realized in nature.