Asgard archaea are diverse, ubiquitous, and transcriptionally active microbes

TY - JOUR

T1 - Asgard archaea are diverse, ubiquitous, and transcriptionally active microbes

AU - Cai, Mingwei

AU - Liu, Yang

AU - Zhou, Zhichao

AU - Yang, Yuchun

AU - Pan, Jie

AU - Gu, Ji-Dong

AU - Li, Meng

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - Asgard is a newly proposed archaeal superphylum. Phylogenetic position of Asgard archaea and its relationships to the origin of eukaryotes is attracting increasingly research interest. However, in-depth knowledge of their diversity, distribution, and activity of Asgard archaea remains limited. Here, we used phylogenetic analysis to cluster the publicly available Asgard archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences into 13 subgroups, including five previously unknown subgroups. These lineages were widely distributed in anaerobic environments, with the majority of 16S rRNA gene sequences (92%) originating from sediment habitats. Co-occurrence analysis revealed potential relationships between Asgard, Bathyarchaeota, and Marine Benthic Group D archaea. Genomic analysis suggested that Asgard archaea are potentially mixotrophic microbes with divergent metabolic capabilities. Importantly, metatranscriptomics confirmed the versatile lifestyles of Lokiarchaeota and Thorarchaeota, which can fix CO2 using the tetrahydromethanopterin Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, perform acetogenesis, and degrade organic matters. Overall, this study broadens the understandings of Asgard archaea ecology, and also provides the first evidence to support a transcriptionally active mixotrophic lifestyle of Asgard archaea, shedding light on the potential roles of these microorganisms in the global biogeochemical cycling.

AB - Asgard is a newly proposed archaeal superphylum. Phylogenetic position of Asgard archaea and its relationships to the origin of eukaryotes is attracting increasingly research interest. However, in-depth knowledge of their diversity, distribution, and activity of Asgard archaea remains limited. Here, we used phylogenetic analysis to cluster the publicly available Asgard archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences into 13 subgroups, including five previously unknown subgroups. These lineages were widely distributed in anaerobic environments, with the majority of 16S rRNA gene sequences (92%) originating from sediment habitats. Co-occurrence analysis revealed potential relationships between Asgard, Bathyarchaeota, and Marine Benthic Group D archaea. Genomic analysis suggested that Asgard archaea are potentially mixotrophic microbes with divergent metabolic capabilities. Importantly, metatranscriptomics confirmed the versatile lifestyles of Lokiarchaeota and Thorarchaeota, which can fix CO2 using the tetrahydromethanopterin Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, perform acetogenesis, and degrade organic matters. Overall, this study broadens the understandings of Asgard archaea ecology, and also provides the first evidence to support a transcriptionally active mixotrophic lifestyle of Asgard archaea, shedding light on the potential roles of these microorganisms in the global biogeochemical cycling.

KW - 16S ribosomal RNA

KW - Archaea

KW - Biology

KW - Evolutionary biology

KW - Gene

KW - Genetics

KW - Lokiarchaeota

KW - Microorganism

KW - Phylogenetic tree

KW - Superphylum

KW - Tetrahydromethanopterin

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/3d0b5f1e-6a5a-3418-a05d-162824e733ed/

U2 - 10.1101/374165

DO - 10.1101/374165

M3 - 文章

SP - 374165

JO - bioRxiv

JF - bioRxiv

ER -