{
  "abstract": "Crawling motility is a hallmark of eukaryotic cells and requires a dynamic actin cytoskeleton, regulated adhesion and spatially organized signalling pathways1,2. Asgard archaea, which are considered the closest known prokaryotic relatives of eukaryotes, potentially encode these functions within their large set of ‘eukaryotic signature proteins’3–6. The few cultivated members show a complex cell morphology, consisting of a central cell body from which several protrusions extend, filled with an actin-based cytoskeleton7,8. Here, live-cell microscopy of two organisms of the Lokiarchaea and Hodarchaea lineages7,9 showed that they dynamically and greatly change their cell shape on a minute time scale and grow and retract their extensive protrusions with a speed of 1.5–4.8 µm min−1, respectively. After adhering to a glass surface, cells use their protrusions to undergo active crawling motion. In the presence of selected actin inhibitors, however, the observed dynamics were arrested, suggesting a central role of actin in these processes. The observed cellular plasticity and motility are unique features among prokaryotes and might have been crucial for the emergence of the first eukaryotic cells that are thought to have formed through the association of a member of the Asgard archaea and an α-proteobacterium, the ancestor of mitochondria.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Unit, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria",
    "Department of Cell Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany",
    "Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Klosterneuburg, Austria",
    "Institute for Extra-cutting-edge Science and Technology Avant-garde Research of Life (X-star), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka, Japan",
    "Division of Molecular Cell Biology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany; Molecular Cell Biology Group, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany",
    "Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Unit, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. christa.schleper@univie.ac.at"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 13,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Philipp Radler",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9198-2182"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Tobias Viehboeck",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7128-3461"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhen-Hao Luo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Nevena Maslać",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8961-4847"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Katharina Schmidt",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1512-1748"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Robert Hauschild",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9843-3522"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Masaru Konishi Nobu",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0046-9306"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Silvia Bulgheresi",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1441-7152"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Theresia E. B. Stradal",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0352-9474"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Klemens Rottner",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4244-4198"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Hiroyuki Imachi",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6588-5055"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Michael Sixt",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6620-9179"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Christa Schleper",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1918-2735"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/141vwna90tmj7.bib",
  "cited_by": 8,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41586-026-11063-9",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13716822/",
  "id": "141vwna90tmj7",
  "issns": [
    "0028-0836",
    "1476-4687"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11063-9",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
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      "openalex",
      "1105|Protist diversity and phylogeny"
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      "openalex",
      "1312|Protist diversity and phylogeny"
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  "openalex": "W7214887205",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13716822",
  "pmid": "42816618",
  "published": "2026-09-30",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/141vwna90tmj7.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T12:24:01Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13716822",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11063-9"
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    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-07T13:20:50Z",
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11063-9"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Protist diversity and phylogeny",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
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    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1105|Protist diversity and phylogeny",
      "subfield": "evolutionary-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Dynamic protrusions mediate crawling motility in Asgard archaea",
  "title_text": "Dynamic protrusions mediate crawling motility in Asgard archaea",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T13:20:44Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/141vwna90tmj7",
  "venue": "Nature",
  "versions": []
}