Cited by 1,324Protist diversity and phylogenyOrigins and Evolution of LifeGenomics and Phylogenetic Studies

Complex archaea that bridge the gap between prokaryotes and eukaryotes

Open access
Spang, Anja, Saw, Jimmy H., Jørgensen, Steffen L., Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka, Katarzyna, Martijn, Joran, Lind, Anders E., van Eijk, Roel, Schleper, Christa +2 more·2015·Nature

Abstract

The origin of the eukaryotic cell remains one of the most contentious puzzles in modern biology. Recent studies have provided support for the emergence of the eukaryotic host cell from within the archaeal domain of life, but the identity and nature of the putative archaeal ancestor remain a subject of debate. Here we describe the discovery of 'Lokiarchaeota', a novel candidate archaeal phylum, which forms a monophyletic group with eukaryotes in phylogenomic analyses, and whose genomes encode an expanded repertoire of eukaryotic signature proteins that are suggestive of sophisticated membrane remodelling capabilities. Our results provide strong support for hypotheses in which the eukaryotic host evolved from a bona fide archaeon, and demonstrate that many components that underpin eukaryote-specific features were already present in that ancestor. This provided the host with a rich genomic 'starter-kit' to support the increase in the cellular and genomic complexity that is characteristic of eukaryotes.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nature14447

Cites

97 of 97 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Asgard archaea form a monophyletic group with Eukaryotes in phylogenetic analyses and encode various eukaryotic signature proteins.

    “a scenario that has gained recent support from the discovery of the Asgard archaea, which form a monophyletic group with Eukaryotes in phylogenetic analyses and encode various eukaryotic signature proteins (Spang et al. 2015;Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka et al. 2017;Eme et al. 2018).”

    From The Emergence of Life (2019) · cites this paper as Spang et al. 2015

    In ‘A “complex” archaeal ancestor of Eukarya,’ the paper reports that Lokiarchaeota form a monophyletic group with eukaryotes in phylogenomic analyses and that the Lokiarchaeum genome contains numerous eukaryotic signature proteins. The cited paper establishes these points for Lokiarchaeota, not for Asgard archaea as a whole. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • ATP synthase evolution supports scenarios on eukaryotic origins from an asgardarchaeal host and an alphaproteobacterial symbiont.

    “Furthermore, ATP synthase evolution supports scenarios on eukaryotic origins from an asgardarchaeal host3,4,13,14 and alphaproteobacterial symbiont107,108”

    From ATP synthase evolution on a cross-braced dated tree of life (2023) · cites this paper as [3]

    The Abstract and “A ‘complex’ archaeal ancestor of Eukarya” support an archaeal host for eukaryotic origins, based on Lokiarchaeota phylogenomics and genome content. The citation is attached to the host portion of the sentence, not the alphaproteobacterial symbiont portion. Our copy does not attribute that support to ATP synthase evolution; searches for ATP synthase yielded no relevant passage. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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1 of the 98 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. [51]Jorgensen SL Correlating microbial community profiles with geochemical data in highly stratified sediments from the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 2012 109 E2846 E2855 23027979 PMC3479504
  2. [52]Jorgensen SL Thorseth IH Pedersen RB Baumberger T Schleper C Quantitative and phylogenetic study of the deep sea archaeal group in sediments of the Arctic Mid-Ocean spreading ridge Front. Microbiol 2013 4 299 24109477 PMC3790079
  3. [79]Guy L Saw JH Ettema TJ The Archaeal Legacy of Eukaryotes: A Phylogenomic Perspective Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Biol 2014 6 a016022 24993577 PMC4176008
  4. [95]Kawai M High frequency of phylogenetically diverse reductive dehalogenase-homologous genes in deep subseafloor sedimentary metagenomes Front. Microbiol 2014 5 80 24624126 PMC3939436
  5. [100]Ettema TJ Lindas AC Bernander R An actin-based cytoskeleton in archaea Mol. Microbiol 2011 80 1052 1061 21414041
  6. [101]Yutin N Wolf MY Wolf YI Koonin EV The origins of phagocytosis and eukaryogenesis Biol. Direct 2009 4 9 19245710 PMC2651865

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Authors
Spang, A., Saw, J. H., Jørgensen, S. L., Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka, K., Martijn, J., Lind, A. E., van Eijk, R., Schleper, C., Guy, L., & Ettema, T. J. G.
Affiliations
  • Uppsala University (SE)
  • University of Bergen (NO)
  • University of Vienna (AT)
Corresponding author
  • Guy, Lionel
  • Ettema, Thijs J. G.
Venue
Nature
Published
2015-05
Volume
521
Issue
7551
Pages
173-179
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W1939911045
Cited by
1,324
References
98
Citations by year
2026: 85 · 2025: 88 · 2024: 118 · 2023: 127 · 2022: 116 · 2021: 125 · 2020: 136 · 2019: 117 · 2018: 118 · 2017: 118 · 2016: 118 · 2015: 54 · 2014: 1
FWCI
58.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protist diversity and phylogeny
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
Keywords
Lokiarchaeota, eukaryotic origin, archaea, membrane remodeling, phylogenomics, cellular complexity
MeSH terms
Actins, Archaea, Arctic Regions, Eukaryotic Cells, Actin Cytoskeleton, Molecular Sequence Data, Phylogeny, Prokaryotic Cells, Evolution, Molecular, Proteome, Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins, Metagenome, Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport, Eukaryota, Hydrothermal Vents

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