Inorganic Matter to Unicellular Life-Forms

Bacteria are significantly more complex than most scientists previously believed.

The research of Loyola University microbial geneticist Alan Wolfe’s team into E. coli bacteria has led to a startling discovery: bacteria are significantly more complex than most scientists previously believed. According to the scientists, the finding marks the “dawning of a new age” in understanding bacteria.

The excitement concerns a molecular reaction known as protein acetylation, which was previously thought to be rare in bacteria. The team reports in Molecular Microbiology that protein acetylation is far more widespread in bacteria and has a significant impact on bacterial physiology. Wolfe explained, “There is a whole process going on that we have been blind to.”

Protein acetylation is a process allowing for modification of proteins to alter their function. It was formerly believed to occur primarily in eukaryotic life-forms—those that have a nucleus, including plants and animals. “Bacteria have long been considered simple relatives of eukaryotes,” the researchers wrote, adding, “Obviously, this misperception must be modified.”

Although scientists already knew that bacteria, as with all life, are exceedingly complex, this discovery adds to our awareness of just how complex many of the supposed “simplest” life-forms actually are. Moreover, it adds to our skepticism of the vague, “just-so” yarns spun by evolutionists trying to explain how the first life formed.