Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
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.
Whereas modern molecular studies point towards the root of the tree of life being between a monophyletic Bacteria and Archaea+Eukarya , in the Cavalier-Smith theory, the last common ancestor (cenancestor) was a Gram-negative diderm bacterium with peptidoglycan, while Archaea and Eukaryotes stem from Actinobacteria. [1] [2]
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. [1] [2] [3] It emerged from development of knowledge of archaea diversity and challenges the widely accepted three-domain system that classifies life into Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. [4]
Bacterial phyla constitute the major lineages of the domain Bacteria.While the exact definition of a bacterial phylum is debated, a popular definition is that a bacterial phylum is a monophyletic lineage of bacteria whose 16S rRNA genes share a pairwise sequence identity of ~75% or less with those of the members of other bacterial phyla.
This forms the basis of the three-domain system. While the presence of a nuclear membrane differentiates the Eukarya from the Archaea and Bacteria, both of which lack a nuclear envelope, the Archaea and Bacteria are distinct from each other due to differences in the biochemistry of their cell membranes and RNA markers. [1]
Bacteria (prokaryotes, together with Archaea) share many common features. These commonalities include the lack of a nuclear membrane, unicellularity, division by binary-fission and generally small size. The various species can be differentiated through the comparison of several characteristics, allowing their identification and classification.
This led to the conclusion that Archaea and Eukarya shared a common ancestor more recent than Eukarya and Bacteria. [73] The development of the nucleus occurred after the split between Bacteria and this common ancestor. [73] [2] One property unique to archaea is the abundant use of ether-linked lipids in their cell membranes.
These three versions of the protein synthesis apparatus are called the canonical patterns, and the existence of these canonical patterns provides the basis for a definition of the three domains - Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya (or Eukaryota) - of currently existing cells. [22]