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The cellular theory on the nature of life has been one of the first major advancements in biology. Viruses, however, are the most abundant life forms, and their exclusion from mainstream biology and the Tree of Life (TOL) is a major paradox in biology. This article presents a broad, unifying scenario on the origin and evolution of cellular and viral domains that challenges the conventional views about the history of life and supports a TOL that includes viruses. Co-evolution of viruses and their host cells has led to some of the most remarkable developments and transitions in the evolution of life, including the origin of non-coding DNA as a genomic protective device against viral insertion damage. However, one of the major fundamental evolutionary developments driven by viruses was probably the origin of cellular domains - Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya - from the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) lineage, by evolving anti-fusion mechanisms. Consistent with a novel fusion/fission model for the population mode of evolution of LUCA, this paper presents a “cell-like world” model for the origin of life. According to this model the evolution of coupled replication, transcription and translation system (RT&T) occurred within non-living cell-like compartments (CCs). In this model, the ancestral ribosome originated as template-based RNA synthesizing machinery. The origin of the cellular genome as a centralized unit for storage and replication of genetic information within the CCs facilitated the evolution of the ancestral ribosome into a powerful translation machinery - the modern ribosome. After several hundred millions of years of providing an enclosed environment and fusion/fission based exchanges necessary for the population mode of evolution of the basic metabolism and the RT&T, the CCs evolved into the first living entities on earth - the LUCA lineage. The paper concludes with a proposal for a TOL that integrates the coevolution of cellular and viral domains. This is one of a series of three articles that present a unifying scenario on the origin and evolution of viral and cellular domains, including the origin of life, which has significant t bio-medical implications and could lead to a significant paradigm shift in biology.

A Unifying Scenario on the Origin and Evolution of Cellular and Viral Domains