Those initial life forms would probably take the form of something like prions, or viruses: small protein assemblies, with a tendency to replicate. They would,

Those initial life forms would probably take the form of something like prions, or viruses: small protein assemblies, with a tendency to replicate. They would, almost by definition, have no defences against the armada of today's microbiology roaming every crevice. They would be devoured within seconds of accidentally forming. Of those that formed billions of years ago, no trace would remain, or, if it did, it would be indistinguishable to us from any non-living molecule that once swam in the primordial soup.