Newly discovered Asgard archaea Hermodarchaeota potentially degrade alkanes and aromatics via alkyl/benzyl-succinate synthase and benzoyl-CoA pathway.

ABSTRACT: Asgard archaea are widely distributed in anaerobic environments. Previous studies revealed the potential capability of Asgard archaea to utilize various organic substrates including proteins, carbohydrates, fatty acids, amino acids and hydrocarbons, suggesting that Asgard archaea play an important role in sediment carbon cycling. Here, we describe a previously unrecognized archaeal phylum, Hermodarchaeota, affiliated with the Asgard superphylum. The genomes of these archaea were recovered from metagenomes generated from mangrove sediments, and were found to encode alkyl/benzyl-succinate synthases and their activating enzymes that are similar to those identified in alkane-degrading sulfate-reducing bacteria. Hermodarchaeota also encode enzymes potentially involved in alkyl-coenzyme A and be

SUBMITTER: Zhang JW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8163825 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature