Brett J. Baker
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View article: Correction to: Large-scale protein level comparison of Deltaproteobacteria reveals cohesive metabolic groups
Correction to: Large-scale protein level comparison of Deltaproteobacteria reveals cohesive metabolic groups Open
Correction to "Large-scale protein level comparison of Deltaproteobacteria reveals cohesive metabolic groups"
View article: Archaeal lineages related to eukaryotes encode functional diterpenoid cyclases
Archaeal lineages related to eukaryotes encode functional diterpenoid cyclases Open
The first eukaryotic cell originated through the union of an archaeon (Asgardarchaeota) and a bacterium (Alphaproteobacteria)1–4. Little is known about the molecular basis of eukaryogenesis, but it is likely that lipids played a key role i…
View article: Archaeal lineages related to eukaryotes encode functional diterpenoid cyclases
Archaeal lineages related to eukaryotes encode functional diterpenoid cyclases Open
Summary The first eukaryotic cell originated through the union of an archaeon (Asgardarchaeota) and a bacterium (Alphaproteobacteria) 1–4 . Little is known about the molecular basis of eukaryogenesis, but it is likely that lipids played a …
View article: Metabolic capacity is maintained despite shifts in microbial diversity in estuary sediments
Metabolic capacity is maintained despite shifts in microbial diversity in estuary sediments Open
Estuaries are highly productive ecosystems where microbial communities drive nutrient and carbon cycling, supporting complex food webs. With intensifying anthropogenic pressures, it is critical to understand the capacity of these communiti…
View article: Plastic degradation by enzymes from uncultured deep sea microorganisms
Plastic degradation by enzymes from uncultured deep sea microorganisms Open
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-hydrolyzing enzymes (PETases) are a recently discovered enzyme class capable of plastic degradation. PETases are commonly identified in bacteria; however, pipelines for discovery are often biased to recover…
View article: Methane production from hydrocarbons by consortia dominated by ANME archaea
Methane production from hydrocarbons by consortia dominated by ANME archaea Open
Understanding microbial production and consumption of methane, a potent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, is critical for bridging knowledge gaps in global carbon cycling. In anoxic environments, methane is known to be produced through hyd…
View article: Methane production from hydrocarbons by consortia dominated by ANME archaea
Methane production from hydrocarbons by consortia dominated by ANME archaea Open
Understanding microbial production and consumption of methane, a potent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, is critical for bridging knowledge gaps in global carbon cycling. In anoxic environments, methane is known to be produced through hyd…
View article: Complete genomes of Asgard archaea reveal diverse integrated and mobile genetic elements
Complete genomes of Asgard archaea reveal diverse integrated and mobile genetic elements Open
Asgard archaea are of great interest as the progenitors of Eukaryotes, but little is known about the mobile genetic elements (MGEs) that may shape their ongoing evolution. Here, we describe MGEs that replicate in Atabeyarchaeia, a wetland …
View article: Small archaea may form intimate partnerships to maximize their metabolic potential
Small archaea may form intimate partnerships to maximize their metabolic potential Open
DPANN archaea have characteristically small cells and unique genomes that were long overlooked in diversity surveys. Their reduced genomes often lack essential metabolic pathways, requiring symbiotic relationships with other archaeal and b…
View article: Nature should be the model for microbial sciences
Nature should be the model for microbial sciences Open
Until recently, microbiologists have relied on cultures to understand the microbial world. As a result, model organisms have been the focus of research into understanding Bacteria and Archaea at a molecular level. Diversity surveys and met…
View article: Asgard archaea modulate potential methanogenesis substrates in wetland soil
Asgard archaea modulate potential methanogenesis substrates in wetland soil Open
The roles of Asgard archaea in eukaryogenesis and marine biogeochemical cycles are well studied, yet their contributions in soil ecosystems remain unknown. Of particular interest are Asgard archaeal contributions to methane cycling in wetl…
View article: Structure-based inference of eukaryotic complexity in Asgard archaea
Structure-based inference of eukaryotic complexity in Asgard archaea Open
Asgard archaea played a key role in the origin of the eukaryotic cell. While previous studies found that Asgard genomes encode diverse eukaryotic signature proteins (ESPs), representing homologs of proteins that play important roles in the…
View article: Beyond methane, new frontiers in anaerobic microbial hydrocarbon utilizing pathways
Beyond methane, new frontiers in anaerobic microbial hydrocarbon utilizing pathways Open
Alkanes, single carbon methane to long‐chain hydrocarbons (e.g. hexadecane and tetradecane), are important carbon sources to anaerobic microbial communities. In anoxic environments, archaea are known to utilize and produce methane via the …
View article: Genetic elements and defense systems drive diversification and evolution in Asgard archaea
Genetic elements and defense systems drive diversification and evolution in Asgard archaea Open
Asgard Archaea are of great interest as the progenitors of Eukaryotes, but little is known about the mobile genetic elements (MGEs) that may shape their ongoing evolution. Here, we describe MGEs that replicate in Atabeyarchaeia, wetland As…
View article: A 20-year time-series of a freshwater lake reveals seasonal dynamics and environmental drivers of viral diversity, ecology, and evolution
A 20-year time-series of a freshwater lake reveals seasonal dynamics and environmental drivers of viral diversity, ecology, and evolution Open
Long-term ecological studies are powerful tools to investigate microbiomes and ecosystem change but have mostly ignored viruses. Here, we leveraged a 20-year time-series of a freshwater lake to characterize 1.3 million viral genomes over t…
View article: Bacterial ecology and evolution converge on seasonal and decadal scales
Bacterial ecology and evolution converge on seasonal and decadal scales Open
Ecology and evolution are often viewed as distinct processes, which interact on contemporary time scales in microbiomes. To observe these processes in a natural system, we collected a two-decade, 471-sample freshwater lake time series, cre…
View article: A 20-year time-series of a freshwater lake reveals seasonal dynamics and environmental drivers of viral diversity, ecology, and evolution
A 20-year time-series of a freshwater lake reveals seasonal dynamics and environmental drivers of viral diversity, ecology, and evolution Open
Long-term ecological studies are powerful tools to investigate microbiomes and ecosystem change but have mostly ignored viruses. Here, we leveraged a 20-year time-series of a freshwater lake to characterize 1.3 million viral genomes over t…
View article: Autotrophic biofilms sustained by deeply sourced groundwater host diverse bacteria implicated in sulfur and hydrogen metabolism
Autotrophic biofilms sustained by deeply sourced groundwater host diverse bacteria implicated in sulfur and hydrogen metabolism Open
Background Biofilms in sulfide-rich springs present intricate microbial communities that play pivotal roles in biogeochemical cycling. We studied chemoautotrophically based biofilms that host diverse CPR bacteria and grow in sulfide-rich s…
View article: Globally distributed marine Gemmatimonadota have unique genomic potentials
Globally distributed marine Gemmatimonadota have unique genomic potentials Open
Gemmatimonadota bacteria are widely distributed in nature, but their metabolic potential and ecological roles in marine environments is poorly understood. Here, we obtained 495 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), and associated viruses, f…
View article: Asgard archaea modulate potential methanogenesis substrates in wetland soil
Asgard archaea modulate potential methanogenesis substrates in wetland soil Open
The roles of Asgard archaea in eukaryogenesis and marine biogeochemical cycles are well studied, yet their contributions in soil ecosystems are unknown. Of particular interest are Asgard archaeal contributions to methane cycling in wetland…
View article: Editorial: Diversity, ecology and evolution of archaeal viruses
Editorial: Diversity, ecology and evolution of archaeal viruses Open
In conclusion, there is much to be learned about archaeal viruses, including the accurate 70 estimation of their overall diversity, their multiple origins and evolution, their typical or atypical 71 virion structures or life cycles, the no…
View article: Asgard archaea defense systems and their roles in the origin of eukaryotic immunity
Asgard archaea defense systems and their roles in the origin of eukaryotic immunity Open
Immune systems are integral to survival against viral infection. Recently, dozens of new anti-viral systems have been characterized in bacteria. Some of these systems are present in eukaryotes and appear to have originated in prokaryotes. …
View article: Editorial: Rising stars in hydrothermal vents and cold seeps: 2021
Editorial: Rising stars in hydrothermal vents and cold seeps: 2021 Open
EDITORIAL article Front. Microbiol., 06 October 2023Sec. Extreme Microbiology Volume 14 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1297372
View article: Phylogenomics and ancestral reconstruction of Korarchaeota reveals genomic adaptation to habitat switching
Phylogenomics and ancestral reconstruction of Korarchaeota reveals genomic adaptation to habitat switching Open
Our knowledge of archaeal diversity and evolution has expanded rapidly in the past decade. However, hardly any genomes of the phylum Korarchaeota have been obtained due to the difficulty in accessing their natural habitats and – possibly –…