Asgardarchaeota Archives - Astrobiology

Correlations of Asgardarchaeota with other microbial lineages in DAN-LK4 microbial mats inferred by co-occurrence network analyses. a, Sankey plot showing positive correlations of Asgard archaeal orders based on normalized USCGs (RPKM) inferred by SparCC alongside their distribution across the redox gradient in the indigenous and mesocosm-maintained microbial mat. The size of boxes is proportional to the relative abundance of Asgard archaea (center) and the number of links with prokaryotic taxa (left) in co-occurrence networks. The relative abundance of the different asgardarchaeal orders is indicated by the thickness of links connecting with the different mat layers (right). -- biorxiv.org

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Sample Return, Status Report

Redox distribution Of Asgard Archaea And Co-occurring Taxa In Microbial Mats From An Early Proterozoic Ecosystem Analog

by Keith CowingApril 9, 2026April 9, 2026

Eukaryotes originated from the symbiosis of an Asgard archaeon, the alphaproteobacterial ancestor of mitochondria, and possibly additional bacterial contributions.

Distribution of Asgardarchaeota based on the recovery of MAGs from a wide variety of habitats. The ecological distribution of the Asgardarchaeota genomes across 12 environments, including genomes added by this study (purple star) and the total number of MAGs (yellow circle). The bar chart shows the number of MAGs from each lineage by environment, indicating lineages found only in a single environment (Atabeyarchaeia; teal triangle), circular complete genomes (black circle), and MAGs with known associated viruses or proviruses (blue phage). We note the novel class, Ranarchaeia, and recently described Asgardarchaeia in the legend with asterisks. Guaymas Basin is shown separately from the other bathypelagic-associated MAGs to showcase the increased genomic diversity from this site. -- biorxiv.org

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Oxygen Metabolism In Descendants Of The Archaeal-Eukaryotic Ancestor

by Keith CowingJuly 8, 2024July 7, 2024

Asgard archaea were pivotal in the origin of complex cellular life. Hodarchaeales (Asgardarchaeota class Heimdallarchaeia) were recently shown to be the closest relatives of eukaryotes. However, limited sampling of these […]

ΨThe orientation of all the genes in the entire cluster flipped for aligning with the other genomes. Each arrow represents a different location on a single complete scaffold; adjacent arrows do not indicate their order on the genome; genes within an arrow are contiguous. ¶Pseudogene; red diamond and red rectangle represent gene(s) absent in the corresponding genome/location; arrows within dashed red boxes are contiguous; HP: hypothetical protein; RNP1: ribonuclease P protein component 1; ORF: open reading frame/gene; #ORF(s) annotated as HP(s); Hsp20: heat shock protein 20; ßpartial gene. -- Archaea

Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

Connections Between Archaea And Eukarya

by Keith CowingDecember 6, 2023December 6, 2023

NASA-supported researchers have examined the order and organization of genes that code for ribosomal protein in a group of archaea known as Asgard. The study is helping scientists better understand […]

Metal rich high-temperature venting

Away Teams & Field Reports, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Immense Diversity And Interdependence In High Temperature Deep-Sea Microorganism Communities

by Keith CowingMarch 8, 2023March 12, 2023

A new study by researchers at Portland State University and the University of Wisconsin finds that a rich diversity of microorganisms live in interdependent communities in high-temperature geothermal environments in […]