Excited to share the final version of this great project! Oxygen production as an electron overflow pathway in ammonia-oxidizing archaea www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #archaea #oxygen #AOA #nitrification #physiology

Do biofilms give an ecological advantage? Yes! A fantastic follow-up to our previous biofilm work in ammonia-oxidizing archaea: "Biofilm Lifestyle Drives Ecophysiological Niche Expansion in an Archaeal Soil Nitrifier" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Congratulations to all authors! #archaea

We are excited to share a new preprint from Dimitris Dalkidis that identifies the effects of inhibitors DMPP and ATU in ammonia-oxidizing archaea! #archaea "Common nitrification inhibitors exhibit varied physiological mechanisms on an ammonia-oxidizing microorganism" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Slow and steady! After 15 years of continuous cultivation, we finally isolated the first psychrotolerant ammonia-oxidizing archaeon (AOA) from an arctic environment, Ca. Nitrosocosmicus articus! Our new article in Frontiers in Microbiology: doi.org/10.3389/fmic...

Congratulations Silvia Bulgheresi, PROSE Award Category Winner for her book Brave Genomes: shop.elsevier.com/books/brave-...

Video 5 (HC1) We were very happy to collaborate with the team of Hiro Imachi, who provided their recently cultivated Hodarchaeum Ca. M. peptidophilum, another member of the Promethearchaeota. We found these cells to be incredibly dynamic and rearranging their cell morphology, like the Lokis.

Video 4 (Actin Inhibition) We were able to stop these dynamics by inhibiting the internal Lokiactin (an ancient homologue of human actin) cytoskeleton. Rather than controlled protrusion growth and movement, the cells sway randomly, similar to the Inflatable tube man found next to car dealerships.

Video 3 (Moving Cells) When we looked closer, we found some that, after adhering to the glass, used their protrusions to migrate along the glass! This type of crawling motility is untypical of prokaryotes, as it didn’t seem to be dependent on Pili proteins, but rather these dynamic protrusions.

Video 2 (Shapechangers) Not only are the arms dynamic, but also the cell shape is extremely plastic. The cells can rearrange from a spherical shape to form a stick like morphology in a matter of minutes! Such plasticity is unprecedented in the world of prokaryotes.

Video 1 (Dynamic protrusions) These cells (we call them lovingly Lokis) have a very characteristic shape: A central cell body with long protrusions. We find these protrusions to be unexpectedly dynamic; they grow and retract constantly.

🎄🧬 It’s December – time for an 'Immunocalendar': “CRISPR CRISPR KNÄUSCHEN”! Every day we open a new door onto a different prokaryotic immune system, with extra love for archaeal hosts. Crafted by the Zink Group within our department :) Have a wonderful Christmas time! ✨

Fresh from our group, a new role for oxygen production in ammonia-oxidizing archaea: Oxygen production as an electron overflow pathway in ammonia-oxidizing archaea Congrats to Thomas Pribasnig for this great work! Check it out here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Crawling motility of Lokiarchaeum ossiferum, our favorite Asgard Archaeon.

An Asgard Archaeon (Lokiarchaeum ossiferum) growing and retracting its arms