Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40962902›Full record

ArticleNature microbiology2025

Structure of a functional archaellum in Bacteria of the Chloroflexota phylum.

Shamphavi Sivabalasarma, Najwa Taib, Clara L Mollat, Marie Joest, Stefan Steimle, Simonetta Gribaldo, Sonja-Verena Albers

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature microbiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. mBio · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Shamphavi SivabalasarmaFaculty of Biology, Molecular Biology of Archaea, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Najwa TaibEvolutionary Biology of the Microbial Cell Laboratory, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.
Clara L MollatFaculty of Biology, Molecular Biology of Archaea, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-2200-3706
Marie JoestFaculty of Biology, Molecular Biology of Archaea, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Stefan SteimleFaculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, CryoEM Facility, Freiburg, Germany.
Simonetta GribaldoEvolutionary Biology of the Microbial Cell Laboratory, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.
Sonja-Verena AlbersFaculty of Biology, Molecular Biology of Archaea, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. sonja.albers@biologie.uni-freiburg.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2459-2226

Funding

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) 403222702-SFB 1381Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) 506518771Fondation Bettencourt Schueller (Bettencourt Schueller Foundation) ENVOL
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Motility in Archaea is driven by the archaellum, a rotary ATP-driven machinery unrelated to the bacterial flagellum. To date, archaella have been described exclusively in archaea; however, recent work reported archaellum genes in bacterial strains of the SAR202 clade (Chloroflexota). Here, using MacSyFinder, we show that bona fide archaellum gene clusters are widespread in several members of the Chloroflexota. Analysis of archaellum-encoding loci and Alphafold3-predicted structures show similarity to the archaellum machinery. Using cryo electron microscopy single-particle analysis, we solved the structure of the bacterial archaellum from Litorilinea aerophila to 2.7 Å. We also show the expression and assembly of this machinery in bacteria and its function in swimming motility. Finally, a phylogenomic analysis revealed two horizontal gene transfer events from euryarchaeal members to Chloroflexota. In summary, our study shows that a functional and assembled archaellum machinery can be exchanged between the two prokaryotic domains.

Indexed as

ChloroflexiCryoelectron MicroscopyGene Transfer, HorizontalMultigene FamilyPhylogeny

Identifiers

PMID40962902
PMCPMC12488501

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.