Romain Villa

With Eugene Koonin, we propose a concept of “the selfish ribosome”, under which evolution of life is viewed as a ribosomal takeover, where the ribosome evolved to consume most of the cell’s resources, while other cellular componentry ensures the propagation of the ribosome. arxiv.org/abs/2602.23268

Oxygen metabolism in descendants of the archaeal-eukaryotic ancestor - Nature Sequencing of marine sediments finds 136 newly identified Heimdallarchaeia and several novel lineages, and indicates that Heimdallarchaeia evolved distinct metabolic capabilities from other Asgardarchaeota, in conditions that may have given rise to early eukaryotes.

Nature research paper: Oxygen metabolism in descendants of the archaeal-eukaryotic ancestor

go.nature.com/4rSfRRw

Finally out in @nature.com: a new piece of the puzzle of how complex life evolved. Lead by @archaeal.bsky.social & @katyappler.bsky.social. Great collab with @greening.bsky.social and @kassipan.bsky.social. More pieces to follow soon! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Beyond thrilled to share that our study has been published!
This project encompasses years of work, including my thesis research on Asgard archaea in the @archaeal.bsky.social lab at @utmsi.bsky.social and
@texasscience.bsky.social!!!
#MicroSky #ArchaeaSky 1/12

Evolution and diversity of oxidoreductases involved in redox balance and energy conservation - Nature Ecology & Evolution HORBEC are protein complexes involved in the regulation of redox balance and energy conservation. The authors develop a bioinformatic tool for HORBEC annotation in bacterial and archaeal genomes and r...

Passioned by #bioenergetics? Do not miss our new article on the evolutionary history of oxidoreductases with G. Borrel and @sgribaldo.bsky.social @archaeal.bsky.social @valdeanda.bsky.social @pasteur.fr @cnrs.fr @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social @natecoevo.nature.com (www.nature.com/articles/s41...).

Abstract Submission - Spring seminars 2026 Thank you for your interest in presenting at Archaea Power Hour! We're excited to announce that we have merged our previously separate initiatives, APH-Americas and APH-Europe, into a unified platform...

Archaea Power Hour needs you 🫵! We are looking for presenters for our upcoming spring semester seminar series now! Tell us about your amazing archaeal research by submitting an abstract here: docs.google.com/forms/u/2/d/...

authors.elsevier.com/c/1m1OD,L~yC...

Methanobrevibacter smithii

Curious about the top methane-maker in your gut? Meet this month's featured microbe and find out! 🦠💨🔥 in @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social #archaeasky
@sgribaldo.bsky.social @pasteur.fr
🔗 Full article linked in reply👇
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Halophilic archaea produce wax esters and use an alternative fatty acyl-CoA reductase for precursor synthesis Abstract. Wax esters are fatty acid-based neutral lipids thought to be restricted to bacteria and eukaryotes that play a key role in the functioning and ma

Yes Archaea too can get fat 😁
New paper from the lab (by bsky-less Guillaume Borrel)!
Check it out👇👇 #archaeasky #microsky @institutpasteur.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

Sheaths are diverse and abundant cell surface layers in archaea Abstract. Prokaryotic cells employ multiple protective layers crucial for defense, structural integrity, and cellular interactions in the environment. Arch

Have you ever heard about sheaths? Happy to share our last paper with @sgribaldo.bsky.social and Guillaume Borrel @pasteur.fr where we investigated their distribution and evolution!
doi.org/10.1093/isme...
Below a thread of our major findings:

Call for expressions of interest for post doc positions in various locations worldwide to genetically engineer methanogens. The letterhead includes a large brown cow.

Honored to be part of a collaborative team receiving funding to genetically engineer methanogens in ruminants for reducing carbon emissions. We're now seeking multiple postdocs in the USA, Germany, and New Zealand - apply via the link!

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

🧫🧪 #ArchaeaSky #MicrobiomeSky

Sheaths are diverse and abundant cell surface layers in archaea Abstract. Prokaryotic cells employ multiple protective layers crucial for defense, structural integrity, and cellular interactions in the environment. Arch

Sheaths are diverse and abundant cell surface layers in archaea academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...

sure !

After years of work, our podcast series on #archaea is finally releasing episodes! Listen to the first two and subscribe to get more every two weeks!

For all poopologists out there 💪🏻💩🦵🏻