Tag Archive for 'Asgard archaea'

Asgard archaeon. Scale bar - 500 nm. Image credit: Imachi et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1916-6.

Asgard Archaea and All Eukaryotes Share Common Ancestor, Study Says

Jun 26, 2023 by News Staff

Understanding how complex eukaryotic cells emerged from prokaryotic ancestors represents a major challenge in biology. A main point of contention in refining...

Scanning electron micrograph of a ‘Candidatus Lokiarchaeum ossiferum’ cell showing the long and complex cell protrusions. Image credit: Thiago Rodrigues-Oliveira, University of Vienna.

Study: Enigmatic Asgard Archaea Have Complex Cellular Architecture and Extensive Cytoskeleton

Dec 22, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Asgard archaea (Asgardarchaeota) are considered to be the closest known relatives of eukaryotes, organisms (including animals, plants and fungi) whose...

Human Enzyme Evolved from Ancient Single-Celled Organisms, Study Suggests

Nov 7, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

AK6, an enzyme found in the nucleus of human cells, contains clear traces of single-celled organisms called Asgard archaea, according to new research led...

Model of Asgard viral infection mechanisms and protein similarity with other viruses: (a) genes identified in Asgard viruses involved in infection (i), replication (ii), transcription (iii) and translation (iv); Asgard viruses are shown as different colored hexagons, Asgard hosts as different colored circles, and host transcription machinery is labeled with ovals color coded by function (see legend); (b) distribution of 35 genes (lower x axis) among Asgard viruses (y axis); filled circles indicate annotated orthologues, while white circles indicate that an orthologue was not identified. Image credit: Rambo et al., doi: 10.1038/s41564-022-01150-8.

Mysterious Asgard Archaea-Infecting Viruses Discovered

Jun 30, 2022 by News Staff

Asgard archaea are globally distributed microorganisms related to eukaryotes — complex organisms including animals, plants, fungi, and amoeba. However,...

Eukaryotic Cells Emerged in Anoxic Environment, New Study Suggests

Apr 27, 2022 by News Staff

Since the 1960s, many scientists have argued that the emergence of eukaryotes — cells containing a clearly defined nucleus — happened in response...