Nitrososphaerota
Phylum of archaea / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Nitrososphaerota (syn. Thaumarchaeota) are a phylum of the Archaea proposed in 2008 after the genome of Cenarchaeum symbiosum was sequenced and found to differ significantly from other members of the hyperthermophilic phylum Thermoproteota (formerly Crenarchaeota).[3][2][4] Three described species in addition to C. symbiosum are Nitrosopumilus maritimus, Nitrososphaera viennensis, and Nitrososphaera gargensis.[2] The phylum was proposed in 2008 based on phylogenetic data, such as the sequences of these organisms' ribosomal RNA genes, and the presence of a form of type I topoisomerase that was previously thought to be unique to the eukaryotes.[2][5] This assignment was confirmed by further analysis published in 2010 that examined the genomes of the ammonia-oxidizing archaea Nitrosopumilus maritimus and Nitrososphaera gargensis, concluding that these species form a distinct lineage that includes Cenarchaeum symbiosum.[6] The lipid crenarchaeol has been found only in Nitrososphaerota, making it a potential biomarker for the phylum.[7][8] Most organisms of this lineage thus far identified are chemolithoautotrophic ammonia-oxidizers and may play important roles in biogeochemical cycles, such as the nitrogen cycle and the carbon cycle. Metagenomic sequencing indicates that they constitute ~1% of the sea surface metagenome across many sites.[9]
Nitrososphaerota | |
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Nitrosopumilus maritimus, partially with virions of Nitrosopumilus spindle-shaped virus 1 (Thaspiviridae) attached. | |
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Phylum: | Nitrososphaerota Brochier-Armanet et al. 2021[1] |
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Nitrososphaerota-derived membrane-spanning tetraether lipids (glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers; GDGTs) from marine sediments can be used to reconstruct past temperatures via the TEX86 paleotemperature proxy, as these lipids vary in structure according to temperature.[10] Because most Nitrososphaerota seem to be autotrophs that fix CO2, their GDGTs can act as a record for past Carbon-13 ratios in the dissolved inorganic carbon pool, and thus have the potential to be used for reconstructions of the carbon cycle in the past.[7]