Extensive lateral gene transfer between proto-eukaryotes and <i>Heimdallarchaeia</i> suggests their close association during eukaryogenesis.

ABSTRACT: It has been proposed by Ettema and colleagues, in the two-domain framework for the tree of life, that Eukarya emerged from Heimdallarchaeia, as sister group to Hodarchaeales. Looking at the individual trees of the protein markers used by these authors, I notice that Eukarya are only sister to Hodarchaeales or other Heimdallarchaeia in a minority of trees, whereas they are located far apart from these Asgard archaea in most other trees. Examination of single trees also reveals massive gene transfers from Crenarchaeota and/or Korachaeota to hyperthermophilic Njordarchaeales, explaining why their belonging to Asgard archaea is sometimes difficult to recover. Finally, I discuss several points raised by Ettema and colleagues, such as the phylogen

SUBMITTER: Forterre P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12395588 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature