Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Archaea (/ ɑːr ˈ k iː ə / ⓘ ar-KEE-ə) is a domain of organisms.Traditionally, Archaea only included its prokaryotic members, but this since has been found to be paraphyletic, as eukaryotes are now known to have evolved from 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.
This article lists the genera of the Archaea.The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) [1] and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). [2]
A speculatively rooted tree for RNA genes, showing major branches Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryota The three-domain tree and the eocyte hypothesis (two-domain tree), 2008. [7] Phylogenetic tree showing the relationship between the eukaryotes and other forms of life, 2006. [8] Eukaryotes are colored red, archaea green, and bacteria blue.
The three-domain system presumes that eukaryotes are more closely related to archaea than to Bacteria and are sister group to Archaea, thus, it treats them as separate domain. [29] As more new archaea were discovered in the early 2000s, this distinction became doubtful as eukaryotes became deeply nested within Archaea.
Combined with the five-kingdom model, this created a six-kingdom model, where the kingdom Monera is replaced by the kingdoms Bacteria and Archaea. [16] This six-kingdom model is commonly used in recent US high school biology textbooks, but has received criticism for compromising the current scientific consensus. [ 13 ]
Euryarchaeota (from Ancient Greek εὐρύς eurús, "broad, wide") is a kingdom of archaea. [3] Euryarchaeota are highly diverse and include methanogens, which produce methane and are often found in intestines; halobacteria, which survive extreme concentrations of salt; and some extremely thermophilic aerobes and anaerobes, which generally live at temperatures between 41 and 122 °C.
These evolutionary domains are called Bacteria and Archaea. [36] The ancestors of modern bacteria were unicellular microorganisms that were the first forms of life to appear on Earth, about 4 billion years ago. For about 3 billion years, most organisms were microscopic, and bacteria and archaea were the dominant forms of life.