Archaeal genomics articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Little is known about how archaeal viruses counteract host immunity. Here, the authors leverage a viral gene regulatory feature to predict 354 potential anti-defense genes and experimentally validate a CRISPR-Cas I-A inhibitor and an inhibitor of a toxin-antitoxin system.

    • Yuvaraj Bhoobalan-Chitty
    • , Shuanshuan Xu
    •  & Xu Peng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Anaerobic methanotrophic (ANME) archaea are uncultivated microbes that oxidize the greenhouse gas methane and engage in extracellular electron transfer with other microbes, metal oxides, and electrodes. Here, Ouboter et al. observe strong methane-dependent current associated with high enrichment of ANME archaea on the anode, and provide insights into the mechanisms underlying extracellular electron transfer.

    • Heleen T. Ouboter
    • , Rob Mesman
    •  & Cornelia U. Welte

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Non-ammonia oxidising Thaumarachaeota lineages are common in acidic soils, but their evolution is unclear. Here, the authors assemble 15 genomes from deeply rooted Thaumarachaeota in topsoils and subsoils, investigating evolutionary divergence in the family Gagatemarchaeaceae.

    • Paul O. Sheridan
    • , Yiyu Meng
    •  & Cécile Gubry-Rangin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Anaerobic methanotrophic (ANME) archaea obtain energy from the breakdown of methane. Here, Schoelmerich et al. describe large plasmids associated with ANME archaea of the Methanoperedens genus in enrichment cultures and other natural anoxic environments, opening the way for development of genetic vectors for research on these poorly understood organisms.

    • Marie C. Schoelmerich
    • , Heleen T. Ouboter
    •  & Jillian F. Banfield

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The biology of the archaeal phylum Woesearchaeota is poorly understood due to the lack of cultured isolates. Here, the authors analyze datasets of Woesearchaeota 16 S rRNA gene sequences and metagenome-assembled genomes to infer global distribution patterns, ecological preferences and metabolic capabilities.

    • Wen-Cong Huang
    • , Yang Liu
    •  & Meng Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Geothermal environments are hotspots for carbon cycling. Here, De Anda et al. reconstruct archaeal genomes from terrestrial and deep-sea geothermal sediments, and propose the classification of these microbes as a new phylum, ‘Brockarchaeota’, with unique metabolic capabilities including non-methanogenic anaerobic methylotrophy.

    • Valerie De Anda
    • , Lin-Xing Chen
    •  & Brett J. Baker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A study of the first genomes of the marine Hikarchaeia, the closest known relatives of Haloarchaea, is presented. Their inclusion in ancestral reconstructions unveils an intermediate stage in the evolutionary transition from ancestral anaerobic methanogens to modern day aerobic halophiles.

    • Joran Martijn
    • , Max E. Schön
    •  & Thijs J. G. Ettema

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ammonia-oxidising archaea of the phylum Thaumarchaeota are important organisms in the nitrogen cycle. Using 12 new genomes, this study finds evidence that Nitrososphaerales evolution was marked by lateral gene transfer followed by gene duplication.

    • Paul O. Sheridan
    • , Sebastien Raguideau
    •  & Cécile Gubry-Rangin

  • 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

    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

    The phylum of archaea Aigarchaeota is poorly characterized due to limited genomic sampling. Here, Hua and colleagues use genome-resolved metagenome sequencing to reconstruct six hot spring strains of Aigarchaeota and then infer their metabolism and evolutionary history.

    • Zheng-Shuang Hua
    • , Yan-Ni Qu
    •  & Wen-Jun Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Microbes in the cow rumen are crucial for the breakdown of plant material. Here, Stewart et al. assemble over 900 bacterial and archaeal genomes from the cow rumen microbiome, revealing new species and genes encoding enzymes with potential roles in carbohydrate metabolism.

    • Robert D. Stewart
    • , Marc D. Auffret
    •  & Mick Watson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many microbial lineages have not yet been cultured, which hampers our understanding of their physiology. Here, Wurch et al. use single-cell genomics to infer cultivation conditions for the isolation of a tiny ectosymbiotic nanoarchaeon and its crenarchaeota host from a geothermal spring.

    • Louie Wurch
    • , Richard J. Giannone
    •  & Mircea Podar

Browse broader subjects

Browse Archaeal genomics across other nature.com journals