Review
Oct 2026
A hidden archaeal lineage with an ultra-reduced genome retaining only its replicative core.
Host-associated prokaryotes can undergo extreme genome reduction, but the most reduced genomes belong to mutualistic endosymbionts whose hosts compensate for lost functions, eroding the symbiont's identity as an autonomous cell. Whether comparable reduction can occur while preserving the informational autonomy of a cel...
Ryo Harada, Yuki Nishimura, Mami Nomura et al.
· Current Biology · 0 citations