Abstract
The ability to fix nitrogen (N2) is found among a wide variety of the prokaryotic eubacteria, but not in eukaryotes1. In addition to the prokaryotic eubacteria and eukaryotes, a third ‘kingdom’—the archchaebacteria—has been defined based on the comparison of 16S ribosomal oligonucleotide sequence catalogues2,3. Included in the archaebacterial kingdom are certain obligate halophiles and thermoacidophiles, and the methanogens, strictly anaerobic, methane-producing bacteria4. Here we report diazotrophy by an archaebacterium, the methanogen Methanosarcina barkeri strain 227. Because it has been proposed that the archaebacteria, eubacteria and eukaryotes diverged at an early stage in evolution2,3, the discovery of diazotrophy (N2 fixation) in a member of the archaebacterial group raises interesting evolutionary questions.1
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