Recently, Professor Meng Li’s group from the Institute for Advanced Study of Shenzhen University published a paper titled ‘Genomic and transcriptomic evidence of light-sensing, porphyrin biosynthesis, Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle, and urea production in Bathyarchaeota’ in Microbiome (2019 IF=10.465), a top journal on the filed. In this paper, Bathyarchaeota was found in the sediment of Futian Mangrove sediment. By constructing the genomes, novel potential metabolisms of Bathyarchaeota were discussed, suggesting the abilities of light-sensing, porphyrin biosynthesis, Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle, and urea production. This paper was accomplished by Shenzhen University, The University of Hong Kong, and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. Professor Meng Li from IAS is the corresponding author, and Associate researcher Jie Pan from IAS is the first author.

Bathyarchaeota, a newly proposed archaeal phylum, is considered an important driver of the global carbon cycle. However, due to the great diversity of them, there is limited information that accurately encompasses the metabolic potential of the entire archaeal phylum.

In the current study, nine metagenome-assembled genomes of Bathyarchaeota from four subgroups were constructed from mangrove sediments, and metatranscriptomes were obtained for evaluating theirs in situ transcriptional activities. Comparative analyses with reference genomes and the transcripts of functional genes posit an expanded role for Bathyarchaeota in phototrophy, autotrophy, and nitrogen and sulfur cycles, respectively. Notably, the presence of genes for rhodopsins, cobalamin biosynthesis, and the oxygen-dependent metabolic pathways in some Bathyarchaeota subgroup 6 genomes suggest a light-sensing and microoxic lifestyle within this subgroup.

The results of this study expand our knowledge of metabolic abilities and the diverse lifestyles of Bathyarchaeota, highlighting the crucial role of Bathyarchaeota in the geochemical cycle.

This work was supported by the grants from the Shenzhen basic research - free exploration project and the Shenzhen innovation and entrepreneurship plan for overseas high-level talents - peacock technology and innovation project.

Paper link: https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-020-00820-1