As I said, I haven’t had a chance to actually read the article itself, but as I understand it, this would indicate a universal common ancestor group of nearly genetically identical organisms. While there is suspicion that horizontal gene transfer was more common in the past than it is now, this supports the general narrative of all life arising from a single organism. These sorts of techniques won’t distinguish between that and life arising from several genetically identical organisms.
I take it “a universal common ancestor” doesn’t mean a universal common ancestor, but means a universal common ancestral group?
As I said, I haven’t had a chance to actually read the article itself, but as I understand it, this would indicate a universal common ancestor group of nearly genetically identical organisms. While there is suspicion that horizontal gene transfer was more common in the past than it is now, this supports the general narrative of all life arising from a single organism. These sorts of techniques won’t distinguish between that and life arising from several genetically identical organisms.