Archaeal genetics articles from across Nature Portfolio

The cell membranes of many archaea contain characteristic membrane-spanning lipids known as glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers. Here, Zeng et al. identify a protein that participates in a key step of the synthesis of these lipids from diether precursors.

Lin et al. investigate the use of CRISPRi technology in haloarchaea to regulate the metabolic pathways related to PHBV synthesis to increase PHBV production in H. mediterranei. The authors report that repression of citrate synthase genes redirects metabolic flux and increases production of this degradable bioplastic, which could be used as an alternative to chemical synthetic plastic.

Methane metabolism has a central role in the global carbon cycle. In the Review, Tyson and colleagues discuss the enzymatic pathways responsible for archaeal methane metabolism and highlight the evolutionary relationships of key enzymes with recently discovered alkane-oxidizing archaea.

Prokaryotic Argonaute proteins, homologues of eukaryotic Argonaute proteins involved in RNA interference, have recently been demonstrated to mediate host defence in archaea and bacteria. In this Progress article, van der Oost and colleagues explore the structures and biological functions of the prokaryotic Argonaute proteins, and discuss their potential applications in genome editing.

Archaea are highly diverse microorganisms that inhabit various environments. This evolutionary flexibility and adaptability has been supported by abundant horizontal gene transfer. In this Review, Albers and colleagues discuss the mechanisms and consequences of archaeal DNA transfer.