{
  "abstract": "The study of temperature limits has transformed our understanding of life's boundaries but has focused on bacteria and archaea. For decades after their discovery, no eukaryote was shown to replicate above 60°C. We isolated a geothermal amoeba, Incendiamoeba cascadensis, that divides at 63°C and is motile up to 64°C. We identified an enrichment of genes related to proteostasis and environmental sensing relative to mesophilic amoebae. Comparative RNA sequencing of I. cascadensis revealed upregulation of pathways related to proteostasis, DNA repair, and membrane trafficking at high temperatures. Predicted proteins of I. cascadensis have distinct biophysical properties, including enrichment of positively charged surface residues similar to bacterial and archaeal hyperthermophiles, which suggests a convergent mechanism for protein stability under temperature stress. Together, our findings expand our understanding of where and how life can persist.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Biology Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA; DOE Joint Genome Institute, Berkeley, CA, USA. Electronic address: hbrappap@syr.edu",
    "Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA",
    "DOE Joint Genome Institute, Berkeley, CA, USA",
    "Department of Chemistry, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA",
    "Department of Biochemistry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland",
    "Biology Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA",
    "Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA; Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA",
    "Department of Biology, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA, USA",
    "Center for Life in Extreme Environments, Department of Biology, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA",
    "Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany",
    "Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Chico, CA, USA",
    "Biology Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA; Department of Chemistry, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA",
    "Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Biology, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA, USA",
    "Biology Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA. Electronic address: amoliver@syr.edu"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 22,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hannah B. Rappaport",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3106-4579"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Natalie A. Petek-Seoane",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-8253-729X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Tomáš Tyml",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2558-9846"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Jessica K. Niblo",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9378-6097"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Felix Mikus",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5065-4710"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Naomi E. Gilbert"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Kurt M. LaButti",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5838-1972"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Godwin Ani",
      "orcid": "0009-0008-8684-9844"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Ethan MacVicar",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-7155-8223"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Rachel M. Shepherd",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0795-4996"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Ignacio de la Higuera",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5457-9789"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Samuel J. Lord",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2785-989X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Gautam Dey"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Gordon V. Wolfe",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2220-7590"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Omaya Dudin",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6673-3149"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Laura A. Katz",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9138-4702"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Kenneth Mark Stedman",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6086-0238"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11
      ],
      "name": "Shahar Sukenik",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3855-9574"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        12
      ],
      "name": "Kristen Skruber",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2054-6652"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Frederik Schulz",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4932-4677"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "R. Dyche Mullins",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0871-5479"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        13
      ],
      "name": "Angela Oliverio",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0261-0393"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/90hx170vktyt6.bib",
  "cited_by": 7,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.cell.2026.08.043",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "90hx170vktyt6",
  "issns": [
    "0092-8674",
    "1097-4172"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.08.043",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1105|Protist diversity and phylogeny"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214024941",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC12697723",
  "pmid": "41394606",
  "published": "2026-09-22",
  "publisher": "Cell Press",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/90hx170vktyt6.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-06T13:20:32Z",
      "native_id": "W7214024941",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.08.043"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1105|Protist diversity and phylogeny",
      "subfield": "evolutionary-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes",
  "title_text": "A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T13:21:08Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/90hx170vktyt6",
  "venue": "Cell",
  "versions": []
}