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ARCHAEAL EVOLUTION

Eukaryogenesis, a syntrophy affair

Nature Microbiology volume 4, pages 1068–1070 (2019)Cite this article

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Eukaryotes evolved from a symbiosis involving Alphaproteobacteria and archaea phylogenetically nested within the Asgard clade. Two recent studies explore the metabolic capabilities of Asgard lineages, supporting refined symbiotic metabolic interactions that might have operated at the dawn of eukaryogenesis.

This is exactly what Spang et al.8 and Bulzu et al.9 have done in this issue of Nature Microbiology by reconstructing the metabolism of various Asgard archaeal lineages from metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), mostly from sediments. Asgard archaea exhibit high metabolic versatility. Loki- and Thorarchaeota likely fix carbon using the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway (WLP) and can derive electrons from diverse organic substrates, including complex carbohydrates, fatty acids, amino acids, peptides and alcohols. Lokiarchaeota also seem to have a reverse tricarboxylic acid cycle9. Although they might be able to grow lithoautotrophically on H2, Loki- and Thorarchaeota likely use it to reduce CO2. They can also use formate as carbon or as an energy source. Loki- and Thorarchaeaota can link the oxidation of organics to the generation of membrane potential and produce hydrogen from fermentation. Thus, depending on environmental conditions, they can either consume or produce hydrogen and, if strong electron acceptors are lacking (as very often in anoxic sediments), they might engage in syntrophic interactions with hydrogen or formate scavengers. The presence of reductive dehalogenases additionally suggests that they can also shuttle electrons to organohalide compounds. However, whereas Lokiarchaeota use WLP in reverse to oxidize organics, Thorarchaeota possess a canonical respiratory chain complex I coupling the respiration of organics to the generation of an electrochemical gradient8. The thermophilic Odinarchaeota are able to ferment organics and can couple ferredoxin oxidation to respiratory H+ reduction.

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Fig. 1: Metabolic symbiosis at the origin of eukaryotes.

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  1. Ecologie Systématique Evolution, CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, AgroParisTech, Orsay, France

    Purificación López-García & David Moreira

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  1. Purificación López-García
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  2. David Moreira
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Correspondence to Purificación López-García.

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López-García, P., Moreira, D. Eukaryogenesis, a syntrophy affair. Nat Microbiol 4, 1068–1070 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-019-0495-5

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