Archaeal biology articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    CRISPR arrays form the physical memory of prokaryotic adaptive immune systems by incorporating viral DNA sequences as spacers. Here, Blombach et al. show that transcription factor Cbp1 recruits chromatin protein Cren7 at CRISPR arrays, forming ‘chimeric’ chromatin-like structures that regulate expression of long CRISPR arrays in Sulfolobales archaea.

    • Fabian Blombach
    • , Michal Sýkora
    •  & Finn Werner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Key cellular processes, such as cell-shape determination, are poorly understood in archaea. Here, Schiller et al. study the model archaeon Haloferax volcanii, which forms rods and disks, and identify a diverse set of proteins important for these processes, including a new actin homolog that plays a role in the formation of disk-shaped cells.

    • Heather Schiller
    • , Yirui Hong
    •  & Mechthild Pohlschroder

  • Article
    | Open Access

    NAD serves as a 5′-terminal cap for bacterial and eukaryotic transcripts, and can be degraded at high temperatures to generate ADP-ribose (ADPR). Here, Gomes-Filho et al. identify NAD-RNAs in thermophilic and mesophilic archaea and provide insights into NAD- and ADPR-mediated turnover of RNAs in these organisms.

    • José Vicente Gomes-Filho
    • , Ruth Breuer
    •  & Lennart Randau

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacteria of the genus Streptomyces have complex life cycles involving cellular differentiation and multicellular structures that have never been observed in archaea. Here, the authors show that several halophilic archaea display a life cycle resembling that of Streptomyces bacteria, undergoing cellular differentiation into mycelia and spores.

    • Shu-Kun Tang
    • , Xiao-Yang Zhi
    •  & Ping Xu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Asgard archaea include the closest known archaeal relatives of eukaryotes. Here, the authors provide evidence that eukaryotic and Asgard thymidylate synthases (required for DNA synthesis) may have a bacterial origin, and additional lateral transfer of bacterial genes may have shaped the metabolism of Asgard archaea.

    • Jonathan Filée
    • , Hubert F. Becker
    •  & Hannu Myllykallio

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many eukaryotic and archaeal tRNAs carry a modified adenosine (t6A) that is synthesized by the KEOPS complex, which is composed of four subunits. A fifth subunit (Gon7) is found only in fungi and metazoa. Here the authors show that archaea also possess a fifth subunit, which is structurally and functionally similar to eukaryotic Gon7.

    • Marie-Claire Daugeron
    • , Sophia Missoury
    •  & Tamara Basta

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Micrarchaeota lineage includes poorly characterized archaea with reduced genomes that likely depend on host interactions for survival. Here, the authors report a stable co-culture of a member of the Micrarchaeota and its host, and use multi-omic and physiological analyses to shed light on this symbiosis.

    • Susanne Krause
    • , Sabrina Gfrerer
    •  & Johannes Gescher

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The archaellum is a molecular machine used by archaea to swim, consisting of an intracellular motor that drives the rotation of an extracellular filament composed of multiple copies of proteins named archaellins. Here, the authors use electron cryo-microscopy to elucidate the structure of an archaellum, and find that the filament is composed of two alternating archaellins.

    • Lavinia Gambelli
    • , Michail N. Isupov
    •  & Bertram Daum

  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA primases initiate a short primer before handing off to DNA polymerases to continue replication. Here the authors reveal a unique ability of archaeal primases to first synthesize RNA before stochastically incorporating a deoxyribonucleotide and further extending the primer as DNA.

    • Mark D. Greci
    • , Joseph D. Dooher
    •  & Stephen D. Bell

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding the structural basis for the inhibition of archaeal eukaryotic-like RNA polymerases (RNAPs) during virus infection is of interest for drug design. Here, the authors present the cryo-EM structures of apo Sulfolobus acidocaldarius RNAP and the RNAP complex structures with two regulatory factors, RIP and TFS4 that inhibit transcription and discuss their inhibitory mechanisms.

    • Simona Pilotto
    • , Thomas Fouqueau
    •  & Finn Werner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Transcription in archaea is known to be regulated through the recruitment of RNA polymerase to promoters. Here, the authors show that the archaeon Saccharolobus solfataricus regulates transcription globally through a rate-limiting promoter-proximal elongation step.

    • Fabian Blombach
    • , Thomas Fouqueau
    •  & Finn Werner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Most archaea divide by binary fission using an FtsZ-based system that is poorly understood. Here, the authors combine structural, cellular, and evolutionary analyses to show that the SepF protein acts as the FtsZ anchor in the archaeon Methanobrevibacter smithii.

    • Nika Pende
    • , Adrià Sogues
    •  & Simonetta Gribaldo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    While archaeal proteomics advanced rapidly, a comprehensive proteome database for archaea is lacking. Therefore, the authors here launch the Archaeal Proteome Project, a community-effort providing insights into archaeal cell biology via the combined reanalysis of Haloferax volcanii proteomics data.

    • Stefan Schulze
    • , Zachary Adams
    •  & Mechthild Pohlschroder

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The S-layer is a proteinaceous envelope often found in bacterial and archaeal cells. Here, the authors use CRISPR-based technology to silence slaB, encoding the S-layer membrane anchor, to show that an intact S-layer is important for cell division and virus susceptibility in the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus.

    • Isabelle Anna Zink
    • , Kevin Pfeifer
    •  & Christa Schleper

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Natural gas reservoirs in the oceanic subsurface sustain complex communities of anaerobic microbes. Here, Seitz et al. describe a previously unknown archaeal phylum, Helarchaeota, belonging to the Asgard superphylum and with the potential for oxidation of hydrothermally generated short-chain hydrocarbons.

    • Kiley W. Seitz
    • , Nina Dombrowski
    •  & Brett J. Baker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cofactor F420 plays crucial roles in bacterial and archaeal metabolism, but its biosynthetic pathway is not fully understood. Here, the authors present the structure of one of the enzymes and provide experimental evidence for a substantial revision of the pathway, including the identification of a new intermediate.

    • Ghader Bashiri
    • , James Antoney
    •  & Colin J. Jackson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chemosynthetic microbial communities in hydrothermal environments receiving meteoric and geothermal fluids are understudied. Here, Colman et al. use metagenomics to study one such community from a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, revealing exceptional biodiversity and unique functional potential.

    • Daniel R. Colman
    • , Melody R. Lindsay
    •  & Eric S. Boyd

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sulfolobus islandicus is a model organism within the TACK superphylum of the Archaea. Here, the authors perform a genome-wide analysis of essential genes in this organism, show that the proteinaceous S-layer is not essential, and explore potential stages of evolution of the essential gene repertoire in Archaea.

    • Changyi Zhang
    • , Alex P. R. Phillips
    •  & Rachel J. Whitaker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Transcript cleavage factors such as eukaryotic TFIIS assist the resumption of transcription following RNA pol II backtracking. Here the authors find that one of the Sulfolobus solfataricus TFIIS homolog—TFS4—has evolved into a potent RNA polymerase inhibitor potentially involved in antiviral defense.

    • Thomas Fouqueau
    • , Fabian Blombach
    •  & Finn Werner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In the absence of complete genomes, the metabolic capabilities of uncultured ARMAN-like archaea have been uncertain. Here, Golyshina et al. apply an enrichment culture technique and find that the ungapped genome of the ARMAN-like archaeon Mia14 has lost key metabolic pathways, suggesting dependence on the host archaeon Cuniculiplasma divulgatum.

    • Olga V. Golyshina
    • , Stepan V. Toshchakov
    •  & Peter N. Golyshin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although not photosynthetic, some archaea possess RuBisCO, one of the enzymes characteristic of the photosynthetic Calvin-Benson cycle, but apparently lack another one, phosphoribulokinase (PRK). Here the authors describe a carbon metabolic pathway in methanogenic archaea, involving RuBisCO and PRK.

    • Takunari Kono
    • , Sandhya Mehrotra
    •  & Hiroki Ashida

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How archaeal viruses perturb host transcription machinery is poorly understood. Here, the authors provide evidence that the archaeo-viral transcription factor ORF145/RIP targets host RNA polymerase, repressing its activity.

    • Carol Sheppard
    • , Fabian Blombach
    •  & Finn Werner

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