Recovery of nearly 3,000 archaeal genomes from 152 terrestrial geothermal spring metagenomes

Abstract

Terrestrial geothermal springs, reminiscent of early Earth conditions, host diverse and abundant populations of Archaea. In this study, we reconstructed 2,949 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from 152 metagenomes collected over six years from 48 geothermal springs in Tengchong, China. Among these MAGs, 1,431 (49%) were classified as high-quality, while 1,518 (51%) were considered as medium-quality. Phylogenomic analysis revealed that these MAGs spanned 12 phyla, 27 classes, 67 orders, 147 families, 265 genera, and 475 species. Notably, 575 (19%) MAGs represented new taxa at various taxonomic levels, and 2,075 (70%) lacked nomenclature and effective descriptions. The most abundant phyla of archaeal genomes were Thermoproteota, Thermoplasmatota, and Micrarchaeota. The DRTY, ZMQ, and ZZQ geothermal springs were predominated by Archaea, particularly by Thermoproteia and Thermoplasmata. These draft genomes provide new data for studying species diversity and function within terrestrial geothermal spring archaeal communities, thus contributing to the conservation and utilization of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic microbial resources.