archaea
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceAncestral Reconstructions Decipher Major Adaptations of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea upon Radiation into Moderate Terrestrial and Marine EnvironmentsUnlike all other archaeal lineages, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) of the phylum Thaumarchaeota are widespread and abundant in all moderate and oxic environments on Earth. The evolutionary adaptations that led to such unprecedented ecological success of a microbial clade characterized by highly conserved energy and carbon metabolisms have, however, remained...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Ribbon-Helix-Helix Domain Protein CdrS Regulates the Tubulin Homolog ftsZ2 To Control Cell Division in ArchaeaHealthy cell growth and division are critical for individual organism survival and species long-term viability. However, it remains unknown how cells of the domain Archaea maintain a healthy cell cycle. Understanding the archaeal cell cycle is of paramount evolutionary importance given that an archaeal cell was the host of the endosymbiotic event that gave rise to eukaryotes. Here, we identify and characterize novel molecular...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyArchaeal Chromatin Proteins Cren7 and Sul7d Compact DNA by Bending and BridgingA long-standing question is how chromosomal DNA is packaged in Crenarchaeota, a major group of archaea, which synthesize large amounts of unique small DNA-binding proteins but in general contain no archaeal histones. In the present work, we tested our hypothesis that the two well-studied crenarchaeal chromatin proteins Cren7 and Sul7d compact DNA by both DNA bending and bridging. We show that the two proteins are capable of compacting...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceKiller Archaea: Virus-Mediated Antagonism to CRISPR-Immune Populations Results in Emergent Virus-Host MutualismMultiple studies, especially those focusing on the role of lytic viruses in key model systems, have shown the importance of viruses in shaping microbial populations. However, it has become increasingly clear that viruses with a long host-virus interaction, such as those with a chronic lifestyle, can be important drivers of evolution and have large impacts on host ecology. In this work, we describe one such interaction with the acidic...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental Science“Candidatus Ethanoperedens,” a Thermophilic Genus of Archaea Mediating the Anaerobic Oxidation of EthaneIn the seabed, gaseous alkanes are oxidized by syntrophic microbial consortia that thereby reduce fluxes of these compounds into the water column. Because of the immense quantities of seabed alkane fluxes, these consortia are key catalysts of the global carbon cycle. Due to their obligate syntrophic lifestyle, the physiology of alkane-degrading archaea remains poorly understood. We have now cultivated a thermophilic, relatively fast-...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyLipid Anchoring of Archaeosortase Substrates and Midcell Growth in HaloarchaeaThe subcellular organization of biochemical processes in space and time is still one of the most mysterious topics in archaeal cell biology. Despite the fact that haloarchaea largely rely on covalent lipid anchoring to coat the cell envelope, little is known about how cells coordinate de novo synthesis and about the insertion of this proteinaceous layer throughout the cell cycle. Here, we report the identification of two novel...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySpecies-Specific Recognition of Sulfolobales Mediated by UV-Inducible Pili and S-Layer Glycosylation PatternsType IV pili can be found on the cell surface of many archaea and bacteria where they play important roles in different processes. The UV-inducible pili system of Sulfolobales (Ups) pili from the crenarchaeal Sulfolobales species are essential in establishing species-specific mating partners, thereby assisting in genome stability. With this work, we show that different Sulfolobus species have specific regions...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceMetagenomes from Coastal Marine Sediments Give Insights into the Ecological Role and Cellular Features of Loki- and ThorarchaeotaMicroorganisms of the superphylum Asgard Archaea are considered to be the closest living prokaryotic relatives of eukaryotes (including plants and animals) and thus promise to give insights into the early evolution of more complex life forms. However, very little is known about their biology as none of the organisms has yet been cultivated in the laboratory. Here we report on the ecological distribution of Asgard Archaea...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe TK0271 Protein Activates Transcription of Aromatic Amino Acid Biosynthesis Genes in the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensisThe mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in archaea are still poorly understood. In this study, we identified a transcriptional regulator in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis that activates the transcription of three operons involved in the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids. The study represents one of only a few that identifies a...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCell Structure Changes in the Hyperthermophilic Crenarchaeon Sulfolobus islandicus Lacking the S-LayerThe S-layer is considered to be the sole component of the cell wall in Sulfolobales, a taxonomic group within the Crenarchaeota whose cellular features have been suggested to have a close relationship to the last archaea-eukaryote common ancestor. In this study, we genetically dissect how the two previously characterized S-layer genes as well as a newly identified S-layer-associated protein-encoding gene contribute to...