Hyperthermophilic crenarchaea in the genus Pyrobaculum are notable for respiratory versatility, but relatively little is known about the genetics or regulation of crenarchaeal respiratory pathways. We measured global gene expression in Pyrobaculum aerophilum cultured with oxygen, nitrate, arsenate and ferric iron as terminal electron acceptors to identify transcriptional patterns that differentiate these pathways. We also compared genome sequences for four closely related species with diverse respiratory characteristics (Pyrobaculum arsenaticum, Pyrobaculum calidifontis, Pyrobaculum islandicum, and Thermoproteus neutrophilus) to identify genes associated with different respiratory capabilities. Specific patterns of gene expression in P. aerophilum were associated with aerobic respiration, nitrate respiration, arsenate respiration, and anoxia. Functional predictions based on these patterns include separate cytochrome oxidases for aerobic growth and oxygen scavenging, a nitric oxide-responsive transcriptional regulator, a multicopper oxidase involved in denitrification, and an archaeal arsenate respiratory reductase. We were unable to identify specific genes for iron respiration, but P. aerophilum exhibited repressive transcriptional responses to iron remarkably similar to those controlled by the ferric uptake regulator in bacteria. Together, these analyses present a genome-scale view of crenarchaeal respiratory flexibility and support a large number of functional and regulatory predictions for further investigation. The complete gene expression data set can be viewed in genomic context with the Archaeal Genome Browser at archaea.ucsc.edu.With the exception of the euryarchaeal halophiles, many archaeal model organisms are either obligate aerobes (e.g., Sulfolobus spp.) or obligate anaerobes (e.g., the Thermococcales), with limited respiratory flexibility. As a consequence, relatively little is known about the genetics, regulation, and enzymology of archaeal respiratory pathways compared to those of bacteria. Species in the genus Pyrobaculum are notable both for respiratory versatility, exemplified by Pyrobaculum aerophilum, and for diversity in respiratory capabilities between closely related species (6,28,29,31,65), presenting a potential model system for investigating respiratory pathways in the crenarchaea.Pyrobaculum species grow optimally at 90 to 100°C and are common constituents of microbial communities in neutral pH geothermal springs and shallow marine hydrothermal vents (39,42,61). Pyrobaculum aerophilum is a facultative chemoautotroph that can use oxygen, nitrate, nitrite, arsenate, selenate, selenite, soluble ferric iron citrate, and insoluble ferric iron oxide as respiratory electron acceptors. The complete genome sequence of P. aerophilum was published in 2002 (23). The genome sequences of four additional Pyrobaculum species (P. arsenaticum, P. calidifontis, P. islandicum, and Thermoproteus neutrophilus [to be reclassified as a true Pyrobaculum]) have recently been completed (T. M. Lowe et al., unpub...