Interface swapping orchestrates carbon transfer in the archaeal acetyl-CoA decarbonylase/synthase

The Wood–Ljungdahl pathway is one of biology’s most ancient routes for carbon fixation and energy metabolism, used by organisms such as methanogenic archaea. One of its central metabolic complexes is the acetyl-CoA decarbonylase/synthase (ACDS) complex, catalyzing acetyl-CoA synthesis and cleavage through the co-ordinated action of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH), acetyl-CoA synthase (ACS), and corrinoid iron–sulfur protein (CoFeSP). Unlike bacterial CODH/ACS, archaeal ACDS lacks a stable bifunctional CODH–ACS architecture, raising the question of how reactive CO and methyl intermediates are efficiently transferred between catalytic modules. Using cryo-electron microscopy, crosslinking mass spectrometry, small-angle X-ray scattering, and biophysical analyses, we resolved the organization and dynamics of the ∼2 MDa archaeal ACDS supercomplex from Methanosarcina acetivorans . We identified CoFeSP as a central architectural scaffold that self-assembles into hexa- to octameric oligomers via a conserved N-terminal region of the CdhD subunit. This scaffold likely tethers CODH and ACS through conserved disordered terminal regions, positioning the catalytic modules in the complex’s periphery. We propose a mechanism in which ACS transiently alternates between CODH and CoFeSP, enabling efficient CO and methyl-group transfer without stable binary complexes. This dynamic organization represents a fundamental difference to the stable bifunctional CODH/ACS in bacteria, highlighting how transient interactions enable efficient acetyl-CoA metabolism in archaea.