Archaeal Renaissance: New Insights into Evolution and Applications in Environmental and Industrial Biotechnology

ABSTRACT Archaea have evolved from a once-enigmatic microbial lineage into a fundamental component of evolutionary and applied microbiology. Phylogenomic advances revealing the TACK, Asgard, and DPANN superphyla have expanded archaeal taxonomy and provided critical insights into the origin of cellular complexity in eukaryotes. The Asgard superphylum encodes multiple eukaryotic signature proteins involved in signaling, cytoskeletal organization, and membrane trafficking, reinforcing the archaeal contribution to eukaryogenesis. Concurrently, increasing attention has focused on archaeal metabolism and ecological roles. These microorganisms participate in key biogeochemical processes, including sulfur and ammonia oxidation, hydrocarbon degradation, methanogenesis, and heavy-metal transformation. Their exceptional adaptability to extreme environments underlies diverse biotechnological applications in wastewater treatment, renewable energy production, aquaculture, and cosmetics. Products such as thermostable enzymes, polyhydroxyalkanoate-based bioplastics, archaeosomes, and archaeal probiotics illustrate their growing industrial value. Moreover, recent progress in cultivation techniques, systems-level analyses, and synthetic biology has begun to overcome previous challenges in scalability, cultivation, and genetic manipulation. Collectively, these advances highlight the expanding environmental, evolutionary, and industrial significance of archaea, positioning them as essential contributors to future sustainable biotechnology and bioinnovation.