Chinese researchers have uncovered that eukaryotes originated around 2.72 billion years ago, earlier than the Great Oxidation Event, providing valuable insights into the evolutionary history of eukaryotes.

The findings were published in Nature on Wednesday.

The research team, composed of scientists from the East China Normal University, spent six years collecting sediment samples from salt marshes and mangrove wetlands across China.

Using techniques in comremovedtional biology, the team found that eukaryotes evolved before the diversification of all sampled Heimdallarchaeia.

A previous study suggested that eukaryotes are nested within Heimdallarchaeia, but their exact phylogenetic placement within Asgard archaea remains controversial.