Exploring protein <i>N</i> -glycosylation in ammonia-oxidizing <i>Nitrososphaerota</i> archaea through glycoproteomic analysis
Autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing archaea of the phylum <i>Nitrososphaerota</i>, formerly known as <i>Thaumarchaeota</i>, are notoriously difficult to culture yet play important roles in the global nitrogen and carbon cycles. Inhabiting environments with extremely low ammonia concentrations, these archaea are expected to conserve ammonia strictly for energy production. However, using advanced liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, we discovered that one of these archaea decorates its cell surface proteins with the most nitrogen-rich glycan identified to date, suggesting a previously unrecognized function of protein glycosylation in nitrogen storage. This newly identified <i>N</i>-glycan, with a chitobiose core similar to those in <i>Thermoproteota</i> and eukaryotes, not only deepens our understanding of archaeal evolution but also underscores the molecular adaptations enabling these archaea to thrive in diverse environments.
Authors
- Shigeru Shimamura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5580-962X)
- Ken Takai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4043-376X)
- Maho Yagi‐Utsumi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8144-740X)
- Koichi Kato
- Satoshi Nakagawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0215-8154)
- Takao Suyama (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3043-5739)
- Saeko Yanaka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3513-5701)
- Shingo Kato (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4175-0532)
- Hirokazu Yagi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9296-0225)
- Moriya Ohkuma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3328-8245)
Institutions
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JP)
- National Institutes of Natural Sciences (JP)
- Kyoto University (JP)
- Nagoya City University (JP)
- RIKEN BioResource Research Center (JP)
- Institute for Molecular Science (JP)
- Institute of Natural Science (KP)
- Living Systems (United States) (US)
- The Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- mBio
- Published
- 2025-05-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.03859-24
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 8.58
Funders
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems, National Institutes of Natural Sciences