DPANN
DPANN is a proposed superphylum within the domain Archaea that groups several ultra-small, often symbiotic or parasitic archaeal lineages identified through metagenomic and single-cell genomic analyses. The name DPANN comes from the initials of traditionally recognized core members: Diapherotrites, Parvarchaeota, Aenigmarchaeota, Nanoarchaeota, and Nanohaloarchaeota. Additional lineages, such as Woesearchaeota, have been associated with the DPANN assemblage in later studies, though the exact composition varies with different analyses.
Members of DPANN are notable for extremely small cell sizes and frequently reduced genomes. Many lack complete
DPANN lineages have been detected in a wide range of environments, including marine and terrestrial subsurfaces,
Phylogenetically, the monophyly of DPANN is debated. Some analyses place DPANN as a coherent, early-branching archaeal