The origin and evolution of life as continuing expansion of viral hosts

Abstract

The emergence of life on Earth likely involved a complicated evolution of the primeval residues via basic intermediate forms capable of self-replication. These primordial replicators could have further evolved into archaic virus-like structures, which in turn became the precursors of the cellular life forms. If viruses were indeed the predecessors of the first cellular life forms as suggested by the ‘primordial virus world’ and ‘virus-first’ scenarios, could their hosts themselves emerged and evolved predominantly as factories and reservoirs for virus production and dissemination? In other words, is that hypothetically possible that viruses were not only the originators of cellular life forms and the selfish driving force behind their evolution, but the fundamental reason for both their existence and biological heterogeneity? A short note presented here deliberates on this not entirely unfeasible course of events.