Promethearchaeum
| Promethearchaeum | |
|---|---|
| Promethearchaeum syntrophicum seen under scanning electron microscope. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Archaea |
| Kingdom: | Promethearchaeati |
| Phylum: | Promethearchaeota |
| Class: | Promethearchaeia |
| Order: | Promethearchaeales |
| Family: | Promethearchaeaceae |
| Genus: | Imachi et al., 2024 |
| Species: | P. syntrophicum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Promethearchaeum syntrophicum Imachi et al., 2024
| |
Promethearchaeum is a genus of archaea discovered from the deep-sea sediments of the Pacific Ocean at the coast of Japan.[1] Described in 2020 as a single species, "Candidatus Prometheoarchaeum syntrophicum",[2] it took 12 years for the archeal samples to be successfully cultured (grown in laboratory). Named after the Greek mythological god, Prometheus, the correct scientific name became Promethearchaeum (dropping the "o" according to the rules of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes) and the species, Promethearchaeum syntrophicum.[3]
Discovered by a team of Japanese biologists led by Hiroyuki Imachi and Masaru Konishi Nobu, the archaea were found to constitute a distinct group from other recognised groups so that a new kingdom Promethearchaeati was created. Another archaeon "Candidatus Lokiarchaeum", which was described in 2015 and originally assigned to the phylum "Candidatus Lokiarchaeota",[4] was reassigned to the kingdom Promethearchaeati alongside P. syntrophicum. P. syntrophicum became the first successfully laboratory-cultured "Asgard" archaea.[5]
For its simple cellular structure and function, and dependency on other organisms by symbiosis, P. syntrophicum is described (by the discoverer Hiroyuki Imachi) as "the least complete living thing ever found." With its symbiotic lifestyle with other archaea and bacteria, P. syntrophicum is taken as an example of syntrophic process of symbiogenesis in the early stages of eukaryogenesis and evolutionary root of eukaryotes. The discovery was lauded as "moon landing for microbial ecology."[6]
- ^ Zimmer, Carl (2020-01-15). "This Strange Microbe May Mark One of Life's Great Leaps". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
- ^ Imachi, Hiroyuki; Nobu, Masaru K.; Nakahara, Nozomi; Morono, Yuki; Ogawara, Miyuki; Takaki, Yoshihiro; Takano, Yoshinori; Uematsu, Katsuyuki; et al. (2020-01-15). "Isolation of an archaeon at the prokaryote–eukaryote interface". Nature. 577 (7791): 519–525. Bibcode:2020Natur.577..519I. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1916-6. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 7015854. PMID 31942073.
- ^ Oren, Aharon; Göker, Markus (2024). "Notification that new names of prokaryotes, new combinations, and new taxonomic opinions have appeared in volume 74, part 7 of the IJSEM". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 74 (10): 006494. doi:10.1099/ijsem.0.006494. ISSN 1466-5034. PMC 11649192. PMID 39498826.
- ^ Spang, Anja; Saw, Jimmy H.; Jørgensen, Steffen L.; Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka, Katarzyna; Martijn, Joran; Lind, Anders E.; van Eijk, Roel; Schleper, Christa; Guy, Lionel; Ettema, Thijs J. G. (2015). "Complex archaea that bridge the gap between prokaryotes and eukaryotes". Nature. 521 (7551): 173–179. Bibcode:2015Natur.521..173S. doi:10.1038/nature14447. PMC 4444528. PMID 25945739.
- ^ López-García, Purificación; Moreira, David (2020-04-16). "Cultured Asgard Archaea Shed Light on Eukaryogenesis". Cell. 181 (2): 232–235. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2020.03.058. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 32302567.
- ^ Pennisi, Elizabeth (2019-08-16). "Tentacled microbe hints at how simple cells became complex". Science. 365 (6454): 631. Bibcode:2019Sci...365..631P. doi:10.1126/science.365.6454.631. PMID 31416944.