Did eukaryotes arise from archaea?
Asgard genomes carry actin-like and trafficking-like genes. The merger story is still being rewritten.
Asgard archaea keep rearranging the eukaryote-origin story. Most marine archaea are still known mainly as DNA.
Climate models need better numbers on methanogens versus methane-eaters. That is field science, not a kitchen experiment.
Open questions
Who remains uncultured?
Thaumarchaeota dominate many oceans as ammonia oxidisers, yet many lineages have no laboratory isolate.
How big is archaeal methane?
Wetlands, ruminants and leaks need better partitioning from fossil methane.
Do any archaea harm people directly?
No established pathogen. Associations in some studies remain unproven causation.
Can extremophile chemistry scale?
Industrial enzymes already exist. New claims need life-cycle numbers, not brochure adjectives.
The frontier is 'who is there and what do they eat?' more than 'how do we weaponise an archaeon' — a question this atlas refuses.
Keep exploring
More in Tree of microbes
Bacteria
Single-celled prokaryotes with cell walls ? the oldest widespread life form, and both partners and pathogens.
Familiarity 95Viruses
Packets of DNA or RNA that are not cells — they replicate only inside living hosts.
Familiarity 96Fungi
A eukaryotic kingdom of yeasts, moulds and mushrooms — chitin walls, external digestion, partners of plants.
Familiarity 80Bacteriophages
Viruses that infect bacteria — Earth's most abundant biological entities, and a concept-level idea in medicine.
Familiarity 42Protozoa
Motile unicellular eukaryotes — a teaching grade that includes pond ciliates and a minority of serious parasites.
Familiarity 58