Open Problem: Finding Replication Origins in Archaea

Archaea are unicellular organisms so distinct from other life forms that biologists have placed them into their own domain of life separate from bacteria and eukaryotes. Although archaea are visually similar to bacteria, they have some genomic features that are more closely related to eukaryotes. In particular, the replication machinery of archaea is more similar to eukaryotes than bacteria. Yet archaea use a much greater variety of energy sources than eukaryotes, feeding on ammonia, metals, or even hydrogen gas.

Skew diagram of Sulfolobus solfataricus

The figure below shows the skew diagram of Sulfolobus solfataricus, a species of archaea growing in acidic volcanic springs in temperatures over 80$^{\circ}$ C. In its skew diagram, you can see at least three local minima, represented by deep valleys, in addition to many more shallow valleys.