Journal
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 13, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31452-8
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Funding
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) [DE-AC52-07NA2734]
- U.S. National Science Foundation [DEB 1557042, EAR-1820658]
- NASA [80NNSC17KO548, 80NSSC19M0150]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [91951205]
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Trace metals, specifically tungsten, play a crucial role in the growth and evolution of the archaeal lineage Caldarchaeales. The genome-guided cultivation of Wolframiiraptor gerlachensis revealed its dependence on tungsten and its ability to assimilate xylose. This study suggests that tungsten-associated enzymes were present in the common ancestor of Wolframiiraptoraceae and highlights the importance of tungsten-dependent metabolism in early anaerobic thermophiles.
Trace metals have been an important ingredient for life throughout Earth's history. Here, we describe the genome-guided cultivation of a member of the elusive archaeal lineage Caldarchaeales (syn. Aigarchaeota), Wolframiiraptor gerlachensis, and its growth dependence on tungsten. A metagenome-assembled genome (MAG) of W. gerlachensis encodes putative tungsten membrane transport systems, as well as pathways for anaerobic oxidation of sugars probably mediated by tungsten-dependent ferredoxin oxidoreductases that are expressed during growth. Catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in-situ hybridization (CARD-FISH) and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) show that W. gerlachensis preferentially assimilates xylose. Phylogenetic analyses of 78 high-quality Wolframiiraptoraceae MAGs from terrestrial and marine hydrothermal systems suggest that tungsten-associated enzymes were present in the last common ancestor of extant Wolframiiraptoraceae. Our observations imply a crucial role for tungsten-dependent metabolism in the origin and evolution of this lineage, and hint at a relic metabolic dependence on this trace metal in early anaerobic thermophiles.
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