Carl Woese Has Controversially Proposed That All Three Domains of Life

Question

Carl Woese has controversially proposed that all three domains of life evolved from a(n)________.
A) single last unique common ancestor (LUCA)
B) extremophilic archaean
C) fusion of a bacterium with an archaean
D) universal gene-exchange pool
E) very large virus

Accepted Answer

Carl Woese proposed that all three domains of life (Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya) evolved from a universal gene-exchange pool, rather than a single, last universal common ancestor (LUCA) in the traditional sense. This concept suggests that early life forms exchanged genetic material freely, which contributed to the diversity of life.