A wide array of microorganisms, including many novel, phylogenetically deeply rooted taxa,
survive and thrive in extreme environments. These unique and reduced-complexity …

Mammalian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is replicated and transcribed by phage-like DNA
and RNA polymerases, and our understanding of these processes has progressed …

The nature of the last universal common ancestor (LUCA), its age and its impact on the Earth
system have been the subject of vigorous debate across diverse disciplines, often based on …

In the ongoing debates about eukaryogenesis—the series of evolutionary events leading to
the emergence of the eukaryotic cell from prokaryotic ancestors—members of the Asgard …

The accrual of genomic data from both cultured and uncultured microorganisms provides
new opportunities to develop systematic taxonomies based on evolutionary relationships …

The number and diversity of known CRISPR–Cas systems have substantially increased in
recent years. Here, we provide an updated evolutionary classification of CRISPR–Cas …

Despite the surge of microbial genome data, experimental testing is important to confirm
inferences about the cell biology, ecological roles and evolution of microorganisms. As the …

Asgard is a recently discovered superphylum of archaea that appears to include the closest
archaeal relatives of eukaryotes,,,–. Debate continues as to whether the archaeal ancestor …

Compared to bacteria, our knowledge of archaeal biology is limited. Historically,
microbiologists have mostly relied on culturing and single-gene diversity surveys to …

Mitochondria retain bacterial traits due to their endosymbiotic origin, but host cells do not
recognize them as foreign because the organelles are sequestered. However, the regulated …