Cell Study Reveals Natural RNA Phosphorothioate Backbone Modifications and Writer Machinery in Hyperthermophilic Archaea

A study published in Cell reports the first discovery of natural phosphorothioate backbone modifications in cellular RNA of hyperthermophilic archaea, along with the machinery that writes them. A University of Regensburg team used the German Archaea Center's strain collection to isolate and analyze RNA from multiple extreme thermophiles under controlled conditions; compared with organisms living at moderate temperatures, these microbes carry more RNA modifications, and the modifications change with environmental conditions. The paper's DOI is 10.1016/j.cell.2026.08.034.