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.
Highlights
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
Metagenomic reconstructions of genomes recovered from deep-sea sediments from near 2000 m depth in Guaymas Basin (GB) in the Gulf of California have revealed the presence of additional uncharacterized alkyl methylCoM reductase-like enzymes in metagenome-assembled genomes within the Methanosarcinales (Gom-Arc1)[8]
Supporting their close relationship to eukaryotes, Asgard archaea possess a wide repertoire of proteins previously thought to be unique to eukaryotes known as eukaryotic signature proteins (ESPs)[17]
Summary
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. 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. Asgard archaea have been divided into four distinct phyla: Lokiarchaeota, Thorarchaeota, Odinarchaeota, and Heimdallarchaeota, with the latter possibly representing the closest relatives of eukaryotes[12] Supporting their close relationship to eukaryotes, Asgard archaea possess a wide repertoire of proteins previously thought to be unique to eukaryotes known as eukaryotic signature proteins (ESPs)[17]. We present metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), recovered from GB deep-sea hydrothermal sediments, which represent an undescribed Asgard phylum with the metabolic potential to perform anaerobic hydrocarbon degradation using a methyl-CoM reductase-like homolog
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