A closed Candidatus Odinarchaeum chromosome exposes Asgard archaeal viruses

• Published in: Nature microbiology Vol. 7; no. 7; pp. 948 - 952
• Main Authors: Tamarit, Daniel, Caceres, Eva F., Krupovic, Mart, Nijland, Reindert, Eme, Laura, Robinson, Nicholas P., Ettema, Thijs J. G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01-07-2022; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/326/26/2142; 631/326/26/2526; 631/326/596/2142; Archaea - genetics; Archaeal Viruses - genetics; Arrays; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Brief Communication; Chromosomes; CRISPR; Eukaryota - genetics; Evolutionary Biology; Evolutionsbiologi; Genes; Genetics; Genetik; Genomes; Infectious Diseases; Life Sciences; Medical Microbiology; Microbiology; Microbiology and Parasitology; Mikrobiologi; Parasitology; Phylogeny; Prokaryotes; Proteins; Virology; Viruses
• ISSN: 2058-5276; 2058-5276
• DOI: 10.1038/s41564-022-01122-y

Asgard archaea have recently been identified as the closest archaeal relatives of eukaryotes. Their ecology, and particularly their virome, remain enigmatic. We reassembled and closed the chromosome of
Candidatus
Odinarchaeum yellowstonii LCB_4, through long-range PCR, revealing CRISPR spacers targeting viral contigs. We found related viruses in the genomes of diverse prokaryotes from geothermal environments, including other Asgard archaea. These viruses open research avenues into the ecology and evolution of Asgard archaea.
The closed chromosome of an Asgard archaeon,
Candidatus
Odinarchaeum yellowstonii LCB_4, revealed CRISPR spacers, which were used to identify archaeal viruses.