Archaea are everywhere. While Archaea remain the most poorly understood domain of life on Earth, recent work has shown that Archaea share many aspects of their cell biology with Bacteria, as the result of common ancestry, and with eukaryotes – as a consequence of the emergence of eukaryotes from the merger of a bacterial cell with an archaeal cell around two billion years ago. At the same time, there are aspects of archaeal cell biology that are unique. Together, these facts make Archaea fascinating subjects for evolutionary cell biology. Our lab uses Archaea to explore an array of fundamental questions in cell biology, including: cell organisation, the archaeal membrane, the archaeal cell division cycle, and the dialogue between Archaea and their symbiotic partners.
People Involved: Alice Cezanne, Sherman Foo, Iain Richard, Joe Parham
We study the cell biology of organisms from a wide array of extreme environments. From sulphur springs in Yellowstone National Park, to anaerobic microbial matts in the oceans off the coast of Australia.
Imaging Hell: after many years of effort, we are now able to image Sulfolobus cells as they grow and divide under the microscope at 75°C.
We have designed a heating apparatus called the Sulfoscope that allows us to maintain cells at high temperatures while imaging.
Through high-resolution microscopy and molecular genetics, we are able to capture stunning images that reveal the dynamics of archaeal cell organisation.
Asgard Archaea and the Origin of Eukaryotes
Asgard Archaea were recently identified as the closest living relatives of modern-day eukaryotes. Remarkably, the genomes of Asgard Archaea encode…
Cell Division in Archaea
Cell division is the process by which one cell becomes two. It is the most complex event in the life…