Did the first living cell evolve suddenly in a single step or gradually as the result of many intermediate steps?

Gradually as the result of many intermediate steps is my answer because as life on Earth for example started off with simple atoms making molecules, and as the time went past more complex compounds were be produced. And from there later on unicellular organisms started appearing. Nothing in evolution that I know of happens in a short time, at least from the human perspective.

economic impact of malaria is estimated to cost africa $12 billion every year. this figure factors in costs of health care, absenteeism, days lost in education, decreased productivity due to brain damage from cerebral malaria, and loss of investment and tourism.

"do a testcross with a homozygous recessive plant."