Exploring Mitochondria: Evolution, Energy and Ancestry

Nick Lane aims to inform his readers about mitochondria by providing several examples of the uses of them. He gives several intriguing examples such as the origins of mitochondria, the possible use of mitochondria in fertility treatments, and how they could potentially be used to identify corpses. Lane provides a detailed background on mitochondria: how they formed a successful symbiotic relationship with eukaryotic cells and how mitochondria and their use for cell-independent energy generation was arguably one of the biggest developments in the evolution of simple eukaryotic cells into complex eukaryotic cells. Lane devotes a large part of the start of Power, Sex, Suicide on what he calls “The Quest for a Progenitor” (what Lane calls an ancestor to the eukaryotic cell). He presents many different theories to how the first eukaryotic cell came to being, to which he then explains his agreement or disagreement in great detail. One particular theory he discusses is the Cavalier-Smith theory of ‘primitive amitochondriates’ which in other words focuses on some very old eukaryotes that according to Lane preceded the eukaryotic merger that resulted in the possible production of mitochondria as well as the origin of complex eukaryotes. The conclusion of part

Lane’s argument is greatly over-simplified and his opinion implies that mitochondria are the sole answer to the mystery of complex life. To reiterate, Lane does provide a compelling argument in favour of the role of mitochondria and how they assisted the formation of complex life, but to say that that is the only reason would simply be false. There is a vast amount of other reasons why eukaryotic cells came to be and why they ended up thriving in their environment. This particular section of the book was much more fascinating to read than the previous