Ancestral Reconstructions Decipher Major Adaptations of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea upon Radiation into Moderate Terrestrial and Marine Environments.

ABSTRACT: Unlike all other archaeal lineages, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) of the phylum Thaumarchaeota are widespread and abundant in all moderate and oxic environments on Earth. The evolutionary adaptations that led to such unprecedented ecological success of a microbial clade characterized by highly conserved energy and carbon metabolisms have, however, remained underexplored. Here, we reconstructed the genomic content and growth temperature of the ancestor of all AOA, as well as the ancestors of the marine and soil lineages, based on 39 available complete or nearly complete genomes of AOA. Our evolutionary scenario depicts an extremely thermophilic, autotrophic, aerobic ancestor from which three independent lineages of a marine and two terrestrial groups radiated into moderate environm

SUBMITTER: Abby SS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7554672 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature