Key Points
The team, led by Professor Emmanuelle Javaux, has identified the oldest known microstructures in fossil cells thylakoid membranes dating back an astonishing 1.75 billion years...
This finding, published in the journal Nature, propels the fossil record of thylakoids back by a staggering 1.2 billion years and offers fresh insights into the evolution of cyanobacteria and their significant role in oxygenating our early planet...
The research, conducted at the Early Life Traces & Evolution laboratory of ULiege's Astrobiology Research Unit, involved meticulous examination of enigmatic microfossils known as Navifusa majensis (N.majensis) found within the ancient shales of the McDermott Formation in Australia, as well as formations in DRCongo and arctic Canada...
This profound discovery not only identifies N. majensis as a fossil cyanobacterium but also significantly impacts our understanding of the timeline of life's evolution. Cyanobacteria with thylakoid membranes are now known to have been present during the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) approximately 2.4 billion years ago, a pivotal period when Earth's atmosphere began to accumulate oxygen, altering the course of life's development...
