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autotrophs
[Gk. auto, self, and trophos, feeder] An organism that synthesizes its own food from simple inorganic compounds in its environment with energy captured from the sun or from oxidizing inorganic substances; e.g., a photoautotroph or chemoautotroph.
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chemoautotrophs
Any prokaryotic cell that makes its own food by oxidizing inorganic substances.
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cyanobacteria
A type of single-celled photoautotroph; the first to use a noncyclic pathway of photosynthesis, which slowly enriched the early atmosphere with oxygen.
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endosymbiosis
[Endo�, within + symbiosis, living together] An intimate, permanent ecological interaction in which one species lives and reproduces in the other�s body to the benefit of one or both.
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eukaryotic cells
Type of cell that starts life with a nucleus and other membranebound organelles.
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heterotrophs
[Gk. heteros, other, + trophos, feeder] Organism that cannot make its own food; feeds on other organisms, their wastes, or their remains.
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prokaryotic cells
[L. pro, before, + Gk. karyon, kernel] A single-celled organism, often walled, that does not have the organelles characteristic of eukaryotic cells. Only bacteria and archaeans are prokaryotic.
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Proterozoic
Era between 2.5 million to 544 million years ago. An oxygen-rich early atmosphere formed, sparking the Cambrian explosion of biodiversity.
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proto-cells
Presumed stage of chemical evolution that preceded living cells.
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RNA world
Model for a time prior to the evolution of DNA; a self-replicating system chemically evolved in which RNA strands were templates for protein synthesis.
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stromatolites
Fossilized remains of domeshaped mats of shallow-water communities, cyanobacterial species especially, that were infiltrated with dissolved minerals and fine sediments. Some are 3 billion years old.
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