--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This was difficult to prove as most…" description: "\"“This was difficult to prove as most hydrogenosomes have lost their entire genome, but it is now established with some certainty.1 In other words, what..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/nick-lane-26984_quote_this-was-difficult-to-prove-as-most-hydr_1633597.jpg" --- # This was difficult to prove as most hydrogenosomes have… ![“This was difficult to prove as most hydrogenosomes have lost their entire genome, but it is now established with some certainty.1 In other words, whatever bacteria entered into a symbiotic relationship in the first eukaryotic cell, its descendents numbered among them both mitochondria and…” quote by Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/nick-lane-26984_quote_this-was-difficult-to-prove-as-most-hydr_1633597.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/nick-lane-26984_quote_this-was-difficult-to-prove-as-most-hydr_1633597.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/nick-lane-26984_quote_this-was-difficult-to-prove-as-most-hydr_1633597.jpg) > ““This was difficult to prove as most hydrogenosomes have lost their entire genome, but it is now established with some certainty.1 In other words, whatever bacteria entered into a symbiotic relationship in the first eukaryotic cell, its descendents numbered among them both mitochondria and hydrogenosomes.”” [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Evidence suggests hydrogenosomes and mitochondria share a bacterial ancestor, supporting endosymbiotic theory. **In simple terms:** Hydrogenosomes and mitochondria stem from ancient bacteria. Key Takeaway Recognize shared evolutionary origins. Themes evolution cell biology symbiosis Mood intriguing academic Type educational scientific When to use this quote - microbiology research - education - science communication Key Concepts endosymbiotic theory genomic reduction Questions to Reflect On - How does this insight reshape our view of eukaryotic cells? - What implications does this have for biotechnology? A Different Perspective Complex details may be inaccessible to lay audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) ## Related quotes > [“Matters came to a head after 1918, when the French scientist Paul Portier published his rhetorical masterpiece Les Symbiotes. He was nothing if not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/matters-came-to-a-head-after-1918-when-the-french-scientist-paul/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Nothing is more conservative than a bacterium.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/nothing-is-more-conservative-than-a-bacterium/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [As far as I am concerned, LGBT can only stand for leprosy, gonorrhea, bacteria, and tuberculosis, all of which are detrimental to human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahya-jammeh/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-lgbt-can-only-stand-for-leprosy-gonorrhea/) [Yahya Jammeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahya-jammeh/) > [“Eighty-five percent of recorded species live in the terrestrial realm, and the majority of these, some 850,000, are arthropods (that is, insects, spiders, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-leakey/eighty-five-percent-of-recorded-species-live-in-the-terrestrial-realm/) Richard E. Leakey > [With one linear centimeter of your lower colon there lives and works more bacteria (about 100 billion) that all humans who have ever been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/with-one-linear-centimeter-of-your-lower-colon-there-lives-and-works/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Harmful bacteria, viruses, calcium-forming micro-organisms, and candida are part of our world. Unfortunately, so are toxic chemicals, including everything from pesticides to car pollution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/harmful-bacteria-viruses-calcium-forming-micro-organisms-and-candida/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Nineteen hundred and three will bring great advances in surgery, in the study of bacteria, in the knowledge of the cause and prevention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/nineteen-hundred-and-three-will-bring-great-advances-in-surgery-in/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Plants with leaves no more efficient than today's solar cells could out-compete real plants, crowding the biosphere with an inedible foliage. Tough omnivorous bacteria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-eric-drexler/plants-with-leaves-no-more-efficient-than-today-s-solar-cells-could/) [K. Eric Drexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-eric-drexler/) > [“According to pioneering microbiologist Lynn Margulis, "fully 10 percent of our own dry body weight consists of bacteria, some of which, although they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-bjornerud/according-to-pioneering-microbiologist-lynn-margulis-fully-10-percent/) Marcia Bjornerud > [“Drinking lots of alcohol makes the gut leakier, allowing microbes to more readily influence the brain. Could that help to explain why alcoholics often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/drinking-lots-of-alcohol-makes-the-gut-leakier-allowing-microbes-to/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [You can't just boss bacteria around like that," said the younger Mrs. Hempstock. "They don't like it." "Stuff and silliness," said the old lady.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-t-just-boss-bacteria-around-like-that-said-the-younger-mrs/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [...The large majority of those infectious microbes that cause us so much illness and pain are ANAEROBIC...a big word that means they live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mccabe/the-large-majority-of-those-infectious-microbes-that-cause-us-so-much/) [Ed McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mccabe/) > [“Bacteria and viruses were the most effective allies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-hughes-galeano/bacteria-and-viruses-were-the-most-effective-allies/) [Eduardo Hughes Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-hughes-galeano/) ## More by Nick Lane > [“establishment. In 1966, the Dutch geologist M. G. Rutten could write, in a charmingly antiquated style that has passed forever from the scientific journals:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/establishment-in-1966-the-dutch-geologist-m-g-rutten-could-write-in-a/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Rather surprisingly, to anyone who is most familiar with textbook mitochondria, many simple single-celled eukaryotes have mitochondria that operate in the absence of oxygen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/rather-surprisingly-to-anyone-who-is-most-familiar-with-textbook/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Pigments such as haemoglobin are coloured because they absorb light of particular colours (bands of light, as in a rainbow) and reflect back light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/pigments-such-as-haemoglobin-are-coloured-because-they-absorb-light/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Energy and life go hand in hand. If you stop breathing, you will not be able to generate the energy you need for staying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/energy-and-life-go-hand-in-hand-if-you-stop-breathing-you-will-not-be/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“In an average person, ATP is produced at a rate of 9 × 1020 molecules per second, which equates to a turnover rate (the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/in-an-average-person-atp-is-produced-at-a-rate-of-9-1020-molecules/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“But whatever our beliefs, this richness of understanding should be a cause for marvel and celebration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/but-whatever-our-beliefs-this-richness-of-understanding-should-be-a/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“and predictions. Science is often presented as ‘the facts’, frequently in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/and-predictions-science-is-often-presented-as-the-facts-frequently-in/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“One mitochondrion contains tens of thousands of copies of each respiratory complex. A single cell contains hundreds or thousands of mitochondria. Your 40 trillion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/one-mitochondrion-contains-tens-of-thousands-of-copies-of-each/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Nothing is more conservative than a bacterium.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/nothing-is-more-conservative-than-a-bacterium/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Matters came to a head after 1918, when the French scientist Paul Portier published his rhetorical masterpiece Les Symbiotes. He was nothing if not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/matters-came-to-a-head-after-1918-when-the-french-scientist-paul/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Metabolically active cells, such as those of the liver, kidneys, muscles, and brain, have hundreds or thousands of mitochondria, making up some 40 per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/metabolically-active-cells-such-as-those-of-the-liver-kidneys-muscles/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“the igneo-aerial food.” In other words, despite”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/the-igneo-aerial-food-in-other-words-despite/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“Timmis and colleagues found that chloroplast genes are transferred to the nucleus at a rate of about 1 transfer in every 16 000 seeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/timmis-and-colleagues-found-that-chloroplast-genes-are-transferred-to/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“The point I want to make about methanogens is that they were the losers in the race through a bottleneck, yet nonetheless survived in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/the-point-i-want-to-make-about-methanogens-is-that-they-were-the/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) > [“of oxygen, whether we think of it as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, is the formation of free radicals. As conventionally stated, the idea that breathing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/of-oxygen-whether-we-think-of-it-as-good-or-bad-is-the-formation-of/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) [Explore all 21 Nick Lane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) ## More Bacteria quotes > [“Bacteria and viruses were the most effective allies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-hughes-galeano/bacteria-and-viruses-were-the-most-effective-allies/) [Eduardo Hughes Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-hughes-galeano/) > [...The large majority of those infectious microbes that cause us so much illness and pain are ANAEROBIC...a big word that means they live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mccabe/the-large-majority-of-those-infectious-microbes-that-cause-us-so-much/) [Ed McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mccabe/) > [You can't just boss bacteria around like that," said the younger Mrs. Hempstock. "They don't like it." "Stuff and silliness," said the old lady.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-t-just-boss-bacteria-around-like-that-said-the-younger-mrs/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“Drinking lots of alcohol makes the gut leakier, allowing microbes to more readily influence the brain. Could that help to explain why alcoholics often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/drinking-lots-of-alcohol-makes-the-gut-leakier-allowing-microbes-to/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“According to pioneering microbiologist Lynn Margulis, "fully 10 percent of our own dry body weight consists of bacteria, some of which, although they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-bjornerud/according-to-pioneering-microbiologist-lynn-margulis-fully-10-percent/) Marcia Bjornerud > [Plants with leaves no more efficient than today's solar cells could out-compete real plants, crowding the biosphere with an inedible foliage. Tough omnivorous bacteria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-eric-drexler/plants-with-leaves-no-more-efficient-than-today-s-solar-cells-could/) [K. Eric Drexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-eric-drexler/) > [Nineteen hundred and three will bring great advances in surgery, in the study of bacteria, in the knowledge of the cause and prevention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/nineteen-hundred-and-three-will-bring-great-advances-in-surgery-in/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Harmful bacteria, viruses, calcium-forming micro-organisms, and candida are part of our world. Unfortunately, so are toxic chemicals, including everything from pesticides to car pollution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/harmful-bacteria-viruses-calcium-forming-micro-organisms-and-candida/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [With one linear centimeter of your lower colon there lives and works more bacteria (about 100 billion) that all humans who have ever been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/with-one-linear-centimeter-of-your-lower-colon-there-lives-and-works/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Eighty-five percent of recorded species live in the terrestrial realm, and the majority of these, some 850,000, are arthropods (that is, insects, spiders, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-leakey/eighty-five-percent-of-recorded-species-live-in-the-terrestrial-realm/) Richard E. Leakey > [As far as I am concerned, LGBT can only stand for leprosy, gonorrhea, bacteria, and tuberculosis, all of which are detrimental to human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahya-jammeh/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-lgbt-can-only-stand-for-leprosy-gonorrhea/) [Yahya Jammeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahya-jammeh/) > [There are about 250,000 different species of fossil plants and animals known . . In spite of this large quantity of information, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/there-are-about-250-000-different-species-of-fossil-plants-and/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [Human health should now be thought of as a collective property of the human-associate d microbiota, as one group of researchers recently concluded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/human-health-should-now-be-thought-of-as-a-collective-property-of-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) [Browse all 285 Bacteria quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This was difficult to prove as most hydrogenosomes have lost their entire genome, but it is now established with some certainty.1 In other words, whatever bacteria entered into a symbiotic relationship in the first eukaryotic cell, its descendents numbered among them both mitochondria and hydrogenosomes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nick Lane" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/this-was-difficult-to-prove-as-most-hydrogenosomes-have-lost-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bacteria" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/this-was-difficult-to-prove-as-most-hydrogenosomes-have-lost-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/nick-lane-26984_quote_this-was-difficult-to-prove-as-most-hydr_1633597.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/nick-lane-26984_quote_this-was-difficult-to-prove-as-most-hydr_1633597.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/nick-lane-26984_quote_this-was-difficult-to-prove-as-most-hydr_1633597.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This was difficult to prove as most hydrogenosomes have lost their entire genome, but it is now established…” — Nick Lane", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nick Lane", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“This was difficult to prove as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/this-was-difficult-to-prove-as-most-hydrogenosomes-have-lost-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/this-was-difficult-to-prove-as-most-hydrogenosomes-have-lost-their/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```