CAS Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology & Center of Deep Sea Research, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China.
Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2021 Apr 13;87(9). doi: 10.1128/AEM.03009-20.
Due to their unique metabolism and important ecological roles, deep-sea hydrothermal archaea have attracted great scientific interest. Among these archaea, DPANN superphylum archaea are widely distributed in hydrothermal vent environments. However, DPANN metabolism and ecology remain largely unknown. In this study, we assembled 20 DPANN genomes among 43 reconstructed genomes obtained from deep-sea hydrothermal vent sediments. Phylogenetic analysis suggests 6 phyla, comprised of and a new candidate phylum we have designated These are included in the 20 DPANN archaeal members, indicating their broad diversity in this special environment. Analyses of their metabolism reveal deficiencies due to their reduced genome size, including gluconeogenesis and nucleotide and amino acid biosynthesis. However, DPANN archaea possess alternate strategies to address these deficiencies. DPANN archaea also have the potential to assimilate nitrogen and sulfur compounds, indicating an important ecological role in the hydrothermal vent system. DPANN archaea show high distribution in the hydrothermal system, although they display small genome size and some incomplete biological processes. Exploring their metabolism is helpful to understand how such small forms of life adapt to this unique environment and what ecological roles they play. In this study, we obtained 20 high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) corresponding to 6 phyla of the DPANN group ( and a new candidate phylum designated ). Further metagenomic analyses provided insights on the metabolism and ecological functions of DPANN archaea to adapt to deep-sea hydrothermal environments. Our study contributes to a deeper understanding of their special lifestyles and should provide clues to cultivate this important archaeal group in the future.
由于其独特的代谢和重要的生态作用，深海热液古菌引起了极大的科学兴趣。在这些古菌中，DPANN 超门古菌广泛分布于热液喷口环境中。然而，DPANN 的代谢和生态仍知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们从深海热液喷口沉积物中获得的 43 个重建基因组中组装了 20 个 DPANN 基因组。系统发育分析表明有 6 个门，包括 和我们指定的一个新的候选门 这些都包含在 20 个 DPANN 古菌成员中，表明它们在这个特殊环境中有广泛的多样性。对其代谢的分析表明，由于基因组较小，存在葡萄糖生成和核苷酸和氨基酸生物合成等缺陷。然而，DPANN 古菌拥有替代策略来解决这些缺陷。DPANN 古菌也有可能同化氮和硫化合物，这表明它们在热液喷口系统中具有重要的生态作用。DPANN 古菌在热液系统中分布广泛，尽管它们的基因组较小，并且存在一些不完整的生物过程。探索它们的代谢有助于了解这些小型生命形式如何适应这种独特的环境，以及它们在其中发挥什么生态作用。在这项研究中，我们获得了 20 个高质量的宏基因组组装基因组（MAG），它们对应于 DPANN 组的 6 个门（和一个指定的新候选门 ）。进一步的宏基因组分析提供了对 DPANN 古菌代谢和生态功能的见解，以适应深海热液环境。我们的研究有助于更深入地了解它们特殊的生活方式，并为未来培养这一重要的古菌群体提供线索。
