Abstract
Na.no.pe.trae'us. Gr. masc. n.
nanos
a dwarf; L. masc. adj.
petraeus
(from Gr. masc. adj.
petraios
) living on or among the rocks; N.L. masc. n.
Nanopetraeus
small organism growing inside rocks. The originally proposed name
Nanopetramus
was corrected to
Nanopetraeus
.
The genus
Candidatus
Nanopetraeus corrig. (originally named
Candidatus
Nanopetramus) was established based on a genome sequence found in the metagenome of halite endoliths sampled at Salar Grande in the northern Atacama Desert, Chile. A species name was not proposed.
Candidatus
Nanopetraeus is phylogenetically affiliated with members of the
Ca
. Nanohaloarchaeota branch (
Candidatus
Haloredivivus,
Candidatus
Nanosalina, and
Candidatus
Nanosalinicola corrig.) of the archaeal DPANN superphylum. Analysis of the 1.1 Mb genome of
Ca
. Nanopetraeus SG9 with 46.4% DNA G + C suggests that the organism has a photoheterotrophic lifestyle, based on the presence of archaeal genes for carbohydrate metabolism and rhodopsin biosynthesis. The low median isoelectric point for the predicted proteins suggests a “salt‐in” strategy for osmotic balance. 16S rRNA gene sequences affiliated with
Ca
. Nanopetraeus were recovered from saltern ponds and hypersaline lakes worldwide.
DNA G + C content (mol%)
: 46.4 (metagenome‐assembled genome sequence).
Type species
: Not assigned.
Taxonomic and Nomenclature Notes
According to the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN), the taxonomic status of the genus
Candidatus Nanopetraeus
is: preferred name (not correct name) (last update, February 2025)
*
.
LPSN classification:
Archaea
/
Nanobdellati
/
Candidatus Nanohalarchaeota
/
incertae sedis
/
incertae sedis
/
incertae sedis
/
Candidatus Nanopetraeus
Candidatus Nanopetraeus
could not be recovered in GTDB
**
.
*
Meier‐Kolthoff
et al. (
2022
).
Nucleic Acids Res
,
50
,
D801
–
D807
; DOI:
10.1093/nar/gkab902
**
Parks
et al. (
2022
).
Nucleic Acids Res
,
50
,
D785
–
D794
; DOI:
10.1093/nar/gkab776