Endosymbiotic theory dictates that mitochondria evolved before chloroplasts in eukaryotic evolution
the verdict
SUPPORTED
the evidence backs this
confidence 84/100
Endosymbiotic theory and evolutionary studies confirm that mitochondria were acquired by the ancestral eukaryotic lineage prior to the subsequent acquisition of chloroplasts via cyanobacterial endosymbiosis.
Evidence for · 2
Lineage-specific gene loss following mitochondrial endosymbiosis and its potential for function prediction in eukaryotes
2005 · cited by 25
Paper 3 discusses the endosymbiotic origin of mitochondria from an alpha-proteobacterium in early eukaryotes, which preceded later plastid acquisitions in photosynthetic lineages.
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More for · 1
Dated gene duplications elucidate the evolutionary assembly of eukaryotes.
2026 · cited by 4
Paper 9 establishes that mitochondrial endosymbiosis occurred after the formation of the complex eukaryotic host cell, providing the baseline for primary endosymbiosis events occurring before complex plastid (chloroplast) acquisition lineages.