Abstract

The idea that some eukaryotes primitively lacked mitochondria and were true intermediates in the prokaryote-to-eukaryote transition was an exciting prospect. It spawned major advances in understanding anaerobic and parasitic eukaryotes and those with previously overlooked mitochondria. But the evolutionary gap between prokaryotes and eukaryotes is now deeper, and the nature of the host that acquired the mitochondrion more obscure, than ever before.

1. School of Biology, The Devonshire Building, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle NE1 7RU, UK
2. Institute of Botany III, University of Düsseldorf, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany

Correspondence to: T. Martin Embley¹William Martin² Correspondence should be addressed to T.M.E. (Email: martin.embley@ncl.ac.uk) or W.M. (Email: w.martin@uni-duesseldorf.de).

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