Nature paper shows Asgard archaea crawl with dynamic protrusions, a motility usually associated with eukaryotes

3 October 2026

A Nature paper dated 30 September 2026 reports live-cell microscopy of two Asgard archaeal organisms, from the Lokiarchaea and Hodarchaea lineages, under anaerobic conditions.
The cells change shape rapidly and crawl using dynamic protrusions.
Protrusions extended at speeds of 1.5-4.8 micrometres per minute.
The movement depends on an actin-based cytoskeleton (Lokiactin), confirmed with actin inhibitors.
The authors say cellular innovations in the archaeal ancestor of eukaryotes may have helped early eukaryotic evolution.