Mitochondria are a descendant of early bacteria which infiltrated an Archaea cell, traded genes, and started replicating with it, forming a new organism about 1.5bn years ago.
The wild part is that all mitochondria are descended from that single event.
This was a rather controversial theory called Endosymbiosis and it was pioneered by Lynn Margulis. Now it is widely accepted.
The wild part is that all mitochondria are descended from that single event.
This was a rather controversial theory called Endosymbiosis and it was pioneered by Lynn Margulis. Now it is widely accepted.
https://evolution.berkeley.edu/it-takes-teamwork-how-endosym...