Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Technique for Studying Arthropod and Microbial Communities within Tree Tissues
Published on: November 16, 2014
Major New Microbial Groups Expand Diversity and Alter our Understanding of the Tree of Life
Cindy J Castelle1, Jillian F Banfield2
1Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Innovative Genomics Institute, Berkeley, CA, USA; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Abstract:
The recent recovery of genomes for organisms from phyla with no isolated representative (candidate phyla) via cultivation-independent genomics enabled delineation of major new microbial lineages, namely the bacterial candidate phyla radiation (CPR), DPANN archaea, and Asgard archaea. CPR and DPANN organisms are inferred to be mostly symbionts, and some are episymbionts of other microbial community members. Asgard genomes encode typically eukaryotic systems, and their inclusion in phylogenetic analyses results in placement of eukaryotes as a branch within Archaea. Here, we illustrate how new genomes have changed the structure of the tree of life and altered our understanding of biology, evolution, and metabolic roles in biogeochemical processes.
Related Concept Videos
The Tree of Life - Bacteria, Archaea, Eukaryotes
The Tree of Life - Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes
The Angiosperm Life Cycle
Half-life of a Reaction
Characteristics of Life
Survival Tree
Building a Survival Tree
Constructing a...

