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Rigid gives
membrane
stability to
thermophiles
Gram positive
Cell wall of pseudomurein or
other complex carbohydrate
Gram negative
No outer membrane
No cell wall
Thick protein/glycoprotein coat
Similarities to eukaryotes
• Few plasmids
• RNA polymerase/promoters
• Translation machinery: ribosome and tRNA
• Sequencing of Methanococcus jannaschii in 1992 showed 56% of genes not
similar to bacteria or eukaryotes!
• In the 1970s, Carl Woese and his colleagues at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign began investigating the sequences of bacteria with the goal of developing a
better picture of bacterial relationships. Their findings were published in 1977, and
included a big surprise. Not all tiny microbes were closely related. In addition to the
bacteria and eukaryote groups in the analysis, there was a third group of methane-
producing microbes. These methanogens were already known to be chemical oddities in
the microbial world, since they were killed by oxygen, produced unusual enzymes, and
had cell walls different from all known bacteria.
Archaea for Ph.D. students by
Dr.Farokh Rokhbakhsh-Zamin 46
and Dr.Nadia KAzemiPour
• These bacteria that lived at high temp. or produced methane clustered together
as a group well away from the usual bacteria and the eubacteria.
• Because of this vast difference in genetic makeup, Woese proposed that life be
divided into three domains: Eukaryota, Eubacteria, and Archaebacteria.
• He later decided that the term Archaebacteria was a misnomer, and shortened it
to Archaea. The three domains are shown in the next page, which illustrates
also that each group is very different from the others.
• Archaeans may be the only organisms that can live in extreme habitats such
as thermal vents or hypersaline water.
• They may be extremely abundant in environments that are hostile to all other
life forms.
• However, archaeans are not restricted to extreme environments; new research
is showing that archaeans are also quite abundant in the plankton of the open
sea. Much is still to be learned about these microbes, but it is clear that the
Archaea for Ph.D. students by
Archaea is a remarkably diverse and successful clade of organisms.
Dr.Farokh Rokhbakhsh-Zamin 50
and Dr.Nadia KAzemiPour
Comparison of Archaea to the other domains:
The following table compares some major characteristics of the three domains, to illustrate their
similarities and differences. Many of these characteristics are also discussed below.
Property Archaea Bacteria Eukarya
Ether-linked lipids, Ester-linked lipids, Ester-linked lipids,
Cell Membrane
pseudopeptidoglycan peptidoglycan various structures
Multiple, linear
Circular chromosomes, similar Circular chromosomes,
chromosomes, similar
Gene Structure translation and transcription to unique translation and
translation and
Eukarya transcription
transcription to Archaea
Various, including
Various, with methanogenesis photosynthesis, aerobic and Photosynthesis and
Metabolism
unique to Archaea anaerobic respiration, cellular respiration
fermentation, and autotrophy
1. Gram negative or Gram positive, Rods and regular to highly irregular cells.
2. chemooorganotrophs
3. aerobic or facultatively anaerobic
4. Neutrophilic or alkalophilic.
5. Mesophilic or slightly thermophilic (up to 55 C).
6. requirement for high concentrations of sodium chloride (1.5 Molar or above).
7. Carotenoids give reddish color
8. Bacteriorhodopsin capture light for energy in anaerobic respiration