Last Universal Common Ancestor, The Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) is the hypothetical organism from which all life on Earth is believed to have descended. It is the most recent common ancestor of all living organisms, including bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes. Characteristics Based on various studies and analyses of genetic data, LUCA is thought to have been: Anaerobic: LUCA likely thrived in an environment without oxygen, as the earliest evidence of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere Mehr sehen