The implication of an advanced bioprocess for the acquisition of valuable microbial resources toward a sustainable and low-environmental burden society

Excerpt

One of the most exciting discoveries in the year 2019 in the field of environmental microbiology is the isolation and cultivation of Asgard archaeon present in deep-sea sediment (Imachi et al. 2020). The achievement has captured considerable attention of not only researchers but also the general public. According to the metagenomics study (Spang et al. 2015; Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka et al. 2017), Asgard archaea potentially possess genes that prokaryotes are not supposed to harbor. The metagenomic information has encouraged discussion whether the genes are derived from the Asgard archaeon per se, sample contamination, or metagenomic artifacts. The isolation and cultivation of an Asgard archaeon, termed ‘Candidatus Prometheoarchaeum syntrophicum’ strain MK-D1, seemingly brought the long-term discussion to an end—this Asgard archaeon does hold eukaryote-specific genes. The genome insights and physiological traits of the purely isolated archaeon allowed the authors to advocate the model to describe how eukaryotes emerged. …