Precise placement of the cell division machinery is essential for cell division in most organisms, yet the mechanisms responsible for this process vary substantially across the domains of life. In Euk...

Cell division must be tightly regulate in time and space. Many bacteria and eukaryotes employ geometry sensing systems to regulate cell division spatiotemporally. However, how archaea ensure they divi...

Most archaea rely on the tubulin-like protein FtsZ for division. In the last decade, several novel cell division proteins have been discovered in the model haloarchaeon Haloferax volcanii which contai...

Stromatolites—and their close relatives, microbial mats—could be mistaken for what seems like a bunch of old dark rocks. But instead, they are dense, layered communities of microbes. Long before compl...

A novel Asgard archaeon, Nerearchaeum marumarumayae, is present in microbial mats in Shark Bay, Australia. Combining genomic and structural analyses, together with high-resolution electron cryotomography, Nobs et al. reveal that these archaea possess unique cellular features that reflect their ancestry as progenitors of the earliest eukaryotic cells.

The discovery of Asgard archaea about a decade ago has greatly reshaped our understanding of archaeal evolution and the origin of eukaryotes. Asgards are currently thought to be the closest prokaryoti...

The Asgard archaea have become a cornerstone of archaeal research, particularly for studies aiming to unravel the origin and early evolution of eukaryotes. This Review outlines the current state of th...

Without key cell cycle control genes, SAR11 cells experience aneuploidy and growth inhibition when exposed to changes in nutrients, carbon sources or temperature stress, a vulnerability that may repre...

A survey of the reconstructed gene set of the last eukaryotic common ancestor shows a consistent link between Asgard archaea and the origin of numerous, functionally diverse eukaryotic genes, dem...

Multiple genetic codes developed during the evolution of eukaryotes and bacteria, yet no alternative genetic code is known for archaea. We used proteomics to confirm our prediction that certain archae...