Abstract
The Terrestrial Miscellaneous Euryarchaeota Group has been identified in various environments, and the single genome investigated thus far suggests that these archaea are anaerobic sulfite reducers. We assemble 35 new genomes from this group that, based on genome analysis, appear to possess aerobic and facultative anaerobic lifestyles and may oxidise rather than reduce sulfite. We propose naming this order (representing 16 genera) “Lutacidiplasmatales” due to their occurrence in various acidic environments and placement within the phylum Thermoplasmatota. Phylum-level analysis reveals that Thermoplasmatota evolution had been punctuated by several periods of high levels of novel gene family acquisition. Several essential metabolisms, such as aerobic respiration and acid tolerance, were likely acquired independently by divergent lineages through convergent evolution rather than inherited from a common ancestor. Ultimately, this study describes the terrestrially prevalent Lutacidiciplasmatales and highlights convergent evolution as an important driving force in the evolution of archaeal lineages.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 4110 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 15 Jul 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Dec 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022, The Author(s).
Acknowledgements
UKRI financially supported P.O.S. and Y.M. through the NERC grant (NE/R001529/1). In addition, C.G.-R. and T.A.W. were supported by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (URF150571 and UF140626). We thank Tony Travis for his support with Biolinux. The authors would also like to acknowledge the support of the Maxwell computer cluster funded by the University of Aberdeen.ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General
- General Physics and Astronomy