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Phylogenetic tree showing the relationship between the archaea and other forms of life. Eukaryotes are colored red, archaea green and bacteria blue. Adapted from Ciccarelli et al. [44] Woese argued that the bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes represent separate lines of descent that diverged early on from an ancestral colony of organisms.
It was also found that the eukaryotes are more closely related to the Archaea than they are to the Eubacteria. Although the primacy of the Eubacteria-Archaea divide has been questioned, it has been upheld by subsequent research. [22] There is no consensus on how many kingdoms exist in the classification scheme proposed by Woese.
The tree of life. Two domains of life are Bacteria (top branches) and Archaea (bottom branches, including eukaryotes). The two-domain system is a biological classification by which all organisms in the tree of life are classified into two domains, Bacteria and Archaea.
The three-domain system adds a level of classification (the domains) "above" the kingdoms present in the previously used five- or six-kingdom systems.This classification system recognizes the fundamental divide between the two prokaryotic groups, insofar as Archaea appear to be more closely related to eukaryotes than they are to other prokaryotes – bacteria-like organisms with no cell nucleus.
Archaea and bacteria have generally similar cell structure, but cell composition and organization set the archaea apart. Like bacteria, archaea lack interior membranes and organelles . [ 68 ] Like bacteria, the cell membranes of archaea are usually bounded by a cell wall and they swim using one or more flagella . [ 119 ]
Sarcina cells, for example, are arranged in cubical pockets because cell division alternates regularly among the three perpendicular planes. Streptococcus spp. resemble a string of beads because division always occurs in the same plane. Some of these strings, for example, S. pneumoniae, are only two cells long.
Halophiles (organisms that thrive in highly salty environments) and hyperthermophiles (organisms that thrive in extremely hot environments) are examples of Archaea. [1] Archaea are relatively small. They range from 0.1 μm to 15 μm diameter and up to 200 μm long, about the size of bacteria and the mitochondria found in
These microbes are prokaryotes, meaning they have no cell nucleus or any other membrane-bound organelles in their cells. Archaea were initially classified as bacteria, but this classification is outdated. [93] Archaeal cells have unique properties separating them from the other two domains of life, Bacteria and Eukaryota.