Asgard archaea illuminate the origin of eukaryotic cellular complexity

Katarzyna Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka, Eva F. Caceres, Jimmy H. Saw, Disa Bäckström, Lina Juzokaite, Emmelien Vancaester, Kiley W. Seitz, Karthik Anantharaman, Piotr Starnawski, Kasper U. Kjeldsen, Matthew B. Stott, Takuro Nunoura, Jillian F. Banfield, Andreas Schramm, Brett J. Baker, Anja Spang and Thijs J. G. Ettema ()
Additional contact information
Katarzyna Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka: Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University
Eva F. Caceres: Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University
Jimmy H. Saw: Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University
Disa Bäckström: Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University
Lina Juzokaite: Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University
Emmelien Vancaester: Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University
Kiley W. Seitz: University of Texas-Austin, Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas
Karthik Anantharaman: Policy, and Management, University of California
Piotr Starnawski: Section for Microbiology and Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University
Kasper U. Kjeldsen: Section for Microbiology and Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University
Matthew B. Stott: GNS Science, Extremophile Research Group, Private Bag 2000
Takuro Nunoura: Research and Development Center for Marine Biosciences, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
Jillian F. Banfield: Policy, and Management, University of California
Andreas Schramm: Section for Microbiology and Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University
Brett J. Baker: University of Texas-Austin, Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas
Anja Spang: Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University
Thijs J. G. Ettema: Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University

Nature, 2017, vol. 541, issue 7637, 353-358

Abstract: Abstract The origin and cellular complexity of eukaryotes represent a major enigma in biology. Current data support scenarios in which an archaeal host cell and an alphaproteobacterial (mitochondrial) endosymbiont merged together, resulting in the first eukaryotic cell. The host cell is related to Lokiarchaeota, an archaeal phylum with many eukaryotic features. The emergence of the structural complexity that characterizes eukaryotic cells remains unclear. Here we describe the ‘Asgard’ superphylum, a group of uncultivated archaea that, as well as Lokiarchaeota, includes Thor-, Odin- and Heimdallarchaeota. Asgard archaea affiliate with eukaryotes in phylogenomic analyses, and their genomes are enriched for proteins formerly considered specific to eukaryotes. Notably, thorarchaeal genomes encode several homologues of eukaryotic membrane-trafficking machinery components, including Sec23/24 and TRAPP domains. Furthermore, we identify thorarchaeal proteins with similar features to eukaryotic coat proteins involved in vesicle biogenesis. Our results expand the known repertoire of ‘eukaryote-specific’ proteins in Archaea, indicating that the archaeal host cell already contained many key components that govern eukaryotic cellular complexity.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/nature21031

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