Asgard archaea capable of anaerobic hydrocarbon cycling

Kiley W. Seitz, Nina Dombrowski, Laura Eme, Anja Spang, Jonathan Lombard, Jessica R. Sieber, Andreas P. Teske, Thijs J. G. Ettema and Brett J. Baker ()
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Kiley W. Seitz: University of Texas Austin
Nina Dombrowski: University of Texas Austin
Laura Eme: Uppsala University
Anja Spang: NIOZ, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University
Jonathan Lombard: Uppsala University
Jessica R. Sieber: University of Minnesota Duluth
Andreas P. Teske: Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina
Thijs J. G. Ettema: Uppsala University
Brett J. Baker: University of Texas Austin

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Large reservoirs of natural gas in the oceanic subsurface sustain complex communities of anaerobic microbes, including archaeal lineages with potential to mediate oxidation of hydrocarbons such as methane and butane. Here we describe a previously unknown archaeal phylum, Helarchaeota, belonging to the Asgard superphylum and with the potential for hydrocarbon oxidation. We reconstruct Helarchaeota genomes from metagenomic data derived from hydrothermal deep-sea sediments in the hydrocarbon-rich Guaymas Basin. The genomes encode methyl-CoM reductase-like enzymes that are similar to those found in butane-oxidizing archaea, as well as several enzymes potentially involved in alkyl-CoA oxidation and the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. We suggest that members of the Helarchaeota have the potential to activate and subsequently anaerobically oxidize hydrothermally generated short-chain hydrocarbons.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09364-x

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