Life began on Coyote about 2.5 billion years age in deep-sea hotsprings, which have plenty of thermal energy, and contain carbon dioxide, ammonia and sulfur in various forms, including hydrogen sulfide. These early organisms are Thiothrixia chemoautotrophs that obtain energy only from mineral solutions emanating from hot springs or from hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean. In addition, because the air at that time was without oxygen, and there was no ozone shield to protect against ultraviolet radiation damage, the early organisms, such as Thiothrixia, have the ability to repair radiation damage.
This graph shows a group of Thiothrixia colonies. Thiothrixia is a very simple, small, single-celled organism without a nucleus. Thiothrixia usually multiply by cell division, each part receiving its full share of parental genetic material. This form of reproduction is fairly accurate and any variations come primarily from mutation.
With the passage of time, evolutionary improvement gradually gave rise to cells with modified and more efficient bioenergetic systems. This eventually yielded anaerobic bacteria that could use light as their source of energy. Subsequent changes resulted in a crucial modification of the photosynthetic process, namely, the appearance of bacterial species, such as Volvoxia, that could perform oxygenic photosynthesis.
A group of Volvoxia colonies. Volvoxia live wherever there is sunlight and moisture. They are especially abundant on the surface of the oceans. They produce virtually all of Coyote's atmospheric oxygen. Volvoxia is the ancestor of green plants on Coyote.
As
oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere and the ozone radiation shield had
formed, the stage is set for the evolution of aerobic bacteria and all
the higher forms of life that depend on aerobic respiration for their energy
needs. At this stage, organisms on Coyote have evolved into more complex
unicellular microbes. The unicellular Eukaryotian subsequently evolved
into multicellular animals on Coyote.
