In 2016, scientists used a method called shotgun sequencing to make a model of the Hadesarchaea genome. A genome is all the genes in an living thing and the other pieces of DNA and RNA that help them work. The Hadesarchaea genome is about 1.5 Megabase pairs in size, which is about 0.5 Mbp smaller than most other Archaea. The scientists think the small genome is how the Hadesarchaea can stay alive with only a little to eat.