A soil and aquifer-sediment microbial community in which a newly defined Thermoplasmatota archaeal order, Ca. Angelarchaeales, encodes divergent copper membrane monooxygenases (CuMMOs). Twenty genomes from distinct archaeal species were recovered from grassland and hillslope soils and aquifer sediments. The CuMMO proteins resemble Nitrososphaerales (ammonia monooxygenase) enzymes more than bacterial CuMMOs and retain all functional residues required for monooxygenase activity. Angelarchaeales genomes are enriched in blue copper proteins (BCPs) including plastocyanin-like electron carriers and divergent nitrite reductase-like (nirK) 2-domain cupredoxin proteins, encode strong peptide and amino-acid uptake/degradation capacity, and share electron transport mechanisms with Nitrososphaerales. Angelarchaeales are abundant in some of the source environments.
Taxonomy
| Taxon | Ontology ID | Functional Roles | Abundance |
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| Ca. Angelarchaeales (Thermoplasmatota) — ontology label: Thermoplasmatota | NCBITaxon:2283796 · TaxonMech · TraitMech |
PRIMARY_PRODUCER
PRIMARY_DEGRADER
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ABUNDANT |
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Ecological Interactions
The graph shows only explicitly linked interaction participants. Community members without an asserted participant link are omitted; membership alone does not imply an interaction.
Archaeal CuMMO-Driven Aerobic Oxidation
COMPUTATIONAL POTENTIAL - divergent CuMMO sequences retain catalytic residues and have predicted structural similarity to archaeal monooxygenases. These analyses support candidate activity, not demonstrated in-vivo oxidation or a resolved ammonia, methane or hydrocarbon substrate.
Metabolites: dioxygen (CHEBI:15379 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech)
Evidence
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PMID:34987183 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)"The CuMMO proteins in Ca. Angelarchaeales are more similar in structure to those in Nitrososphaerales than those of bacteria"
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PMID:34987183 - PARTIAL (COMPUTATIONAL)"contain all functional residues required for general monooxygenase activity"
Blue Copper Protein Electron Transport Repertoire
COMPUTATIONAL POTENTIAL - genomes are enriched in blue copper proteins and encode co-located candidate electron-transport machinery. Individual protein functions and their biochemical coupling to CuMMO activity remain unresolved.
Biological Processes:
- electron transport chain (GO:0022900 · PathwayMech)
Evidence
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PMID:34987183 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)"significantly enriched in blue copper proteins (BCPs) relative to sibling lineages"
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PMID:34987183 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)"share numerous electron transport mechanisms with the Nitrososphaerales"
Peptide and Amino Acid Heterotrophy
COMPUTATIONAL POTENTIAL - peptide/amino-acid transport and catabolic genes suggest heterotrophic metabolism in the surveyed Angelarchaeales genomes, not measured uptake or ecosystem carbon flux.
Metabolites: amino acid (CHEBI:33709 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech)
Biological Processes:
- cellular amino acid catabolic process (GO:0009063 · PathwayMech)
Evidence
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PMID:34987183 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)"significant capacity for peptide/amino acid uptake and degradation"
CuMMO-Heterotrophic Metabolic Context
HYPOTHESIZED - co-occurring CuMMO, electron-transport and amino-acid-metabolism genes suggest a possible coupled metabolism. The proposed use of amino-acid-derived ammonia is a hypothesis, not resolved substrate specificity or demonstrated coupling.
Biological Processes:
- electron transport chain (GO:0022900 · PathwayMech)
- cellular amino acid catabolic process (GO:0009063 · PathwayMech)
Evidence
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PMID:34987183 - PARTIAL (COMPUTATIONAL)"Ca. Angelarchaeales also encode significant capacity for peptide/amino acid uptake and degradation and share numerous electron transport mechanisms with the Nitrososphaerales"
Angelarchaeales Biogeochemical Cycling Potential
HYPOTHESIZED - the genomic repertoire makes Angelarchaeales candidate contributors to terrestrial carbon and/or nitrogen cycling across the surveyed sites. Unknown CuMMO substrate specificity and unmeasured flux prevent assignment of a definite ecosystem transformation.
Evidence
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PMID:34987183 - PARTIAL (COMPUTATIONAL)"suggests previously unaccounted organisms contribute to critical global nitrogen and/or carbon cycling functions"
Knowledge gaps & discussions (1)
KNOWLEDGE_GAP OPEN What substrates do Angelarchaeales CuMMOs oxidize, and how are they coupled to heterotrophic metabolism?
PMID:34987183 provides sequence, predicted-structure and genomic-context evidence. The source leaves CuMMO specificity unresolved and proposes amino-acid/ammonia coupling. Inventory aggregation and broad ecosystem potential are not causal arrows. The genomes lack identified carbon-fixation pathways; non-graph PRIMARY_PRODUCER metadata requires a separate audit.
Attaches to: ecological_interactions#Archaeal CuMMO-Driven Aerobic Oxidation, ecological_interactions#Blue Copper Protein Electron Transport Repertoire, ecological_interactions#Peptide and Amino Acid Heterotrophy, ecological_interactions#CuMMO-Heterotrophic Metabolic Context, ecological_interactions#Angelarchaeales Biogeochemical Cycling Potential
External Resources
| Name | Repository | Resource ID |
|---|---|---|
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Primary publication for the Angelarchaeales soil/sediment community
PubMed record for the Diamond et al. 2022 ISME J paper on Angelarchaeales (Thermoplasmatota) encoding novel CuMMOs. |
OTHER | PMID:34987183 |
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DOI landing page
DOI link to the ISME J paper. |
OTHER | doi:10.1038/s41396-021-01177-5 |
Environmental Factors
| Factor | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Source environment | grassland and hillslope soils plus aquifer sediments | N/A |
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Cross-Mech Suite Links
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