Candidatus Nitrosotenuis uzonensis. Candidatus Nitrosotenuis uzonensis strain:N4

“Candidatus Nitrosotenuis uzonensis” is a moderately thermophilic, non-halophilic, chemolithoautotrophic ammonia oxidizing archaeon (AOA). It has been enriched from a terrestrial geothermal hot spring located in the Uzon Caldera on the Kamchatka peninsula. The novel AOA is affiliated with the Nitrosopumilus cluster (group I.1a) of the phylum Thaumarchaeota. It is a member of a lineage with global distribution in geothermal environments that so far had lacked a cultured, functionally characterized or genome sequenced representative. The identification of this AOA, together with the wide distribution of its close relatives in terrestrial hot habitats, suggests an important role of thaumarchaeotes in the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen in these ecosystems.