In evolution, what is the original start of life on this planet?

<<In evolution, what is the original start of life on this planet?>>

Evolutionary theory accounts for the diversity of life on this planet, and doesn't seek to explain its origins, if any. If and how life started isn't relevant to the theory.

<<In evolution, the theory states that live began as a collection of molecules in the early primordial soup of this planet.>>

No it doesn't. Check the book, and that subject isn't mentioned at all. There's a link to it below.

<<However, in this soup, was their one original micro-organism that is the basis for all of life or were there multiple micro-organisms that were created from this collection of molecules at the same time and life sprang up from a couple micro-organisms.>>

All known lifeforms share characteristics that indicate descent from a single organism. However, that doesn't rule out the possibility of presently unknown organisms having different ancestry, and it also doesn't rule out the possibility of there having earlier been other lineages from different origins. Perhaps our lineage swamped the others out, or perhaps not. Anyway, as said, evolutionary theory is disinterested in the origin(s) of life. Rather, it's concerned with the origin of species.

> "In evolution, the theory states that live began as a collection of molecules in the early primordial soup of this planet."

Actually, no it doesn't.

Evolution states that "populations of organisms change in their properties over time".

It does not address the ORIGINS of life at all.

What you are looking for is the field of Abiogenesis.

> "However, in this soup, was their one original micro-organism that is the basis for all of life or were there multiple micro-organisms that were created from this collection of molecules at the same time and life sprang up from a couple micro-organisms."

We have no way of knowing. It is quite possible there were several different self-replication collections of molecules, and that one type outcompeted all the rest, or that there was only ONE such "replicon".

What is certain, however, is that all life currently on earth evolved from ONE type of early life-form. The universal genetic code is evidence enough to be sure of that.

Good answers here.

Here is something a little different - Plani-sperma

The idea that life was sparked from an extraterrestrial seed. To me is seems logical that the early proto earth had ponds of primordial soup. The chemical complexity of this soup could range from simple to complex.

My big question is when did these molecules make the jump from "dead" to "alive". Assuming this wasn't a supernatural event - it is possible that a "catalyst" from space triggered the step change.

Or maybe a fully formed extraterrestrial virus took root in the soup. Hey that has a nice ring to it.

Embrace the mystery.

There were experiments done in the early 50's that showed that amino acids, the building blocks of RNA needed for DNA production, could be assembled from non-living chemicals in conditions similar to the primordial Earth. It wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination, especially when considering the sweepstakes model, that more than one of these amino acids became RNA and so on and so on until we are communicating via the internet.

original start of life.... actually not life at all

it's called abiogenesis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiogenesis

lots of youtube vids too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6QYDdgP9eg