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Small cells with big secrets

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 21, page 414 (2023)Cite this article

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This Genome Watch highlights how combining next-generation sequencing and imaging technologies sheds light on the diverse and intricate symbiotic relationships of uncultivated archaea and bacteria.

In the past 20 years, cultivation-independent sequencing has greatly expanded the tree of life1, revealing that bacteria and archaea make up the majority of Earth’s biodiversity. However, most of these organisms have not been cultured and are primarily identified through sequencing techniques. Metagenomics and single-cell genomics have led to the discovery of two large evolutionary radiations — ‘Candidatus Patescibacteria’ (also known as candidate phyla radiation) among bacteria and DPANN among archaea — whose members are small cells that lack central biosynthetic pathways and are thought to have a symbiotic lifestyle1. ‘Ca. Patescibacteria’- and DPANN-like cells can be recognized using imaging techniques as ultrasmall cells attached to larger bacteria or archaea, but imaging alone cannot provide precise taxonomic assignments. Thus, recent studies have taken on the challenge of integrating imaging with omics to address this gap.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DOE Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Jean-Marie Volland

  2. Laboratory for Research in Complex Systems, Menlo Park, CA, USA

    Jean-Marie Volland

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  1. Jean-Marie Volland
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Correspondence to Jean-Marie Volland.

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Volland, JM. Small cells with big secrets. Nat Rev Microbiol 21, 414 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-023-00903-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-023-00903-4

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