In the light of recent classification of living organisms into three ...
Archaea: Novel Features and Differences
Introduction:
In the recent classification of living organisms, archaea is one of the three domains of life, along with bacteria and eukarya. Archaea are a diverse group of microorganisms that have distinct characteristics and occupy unique ecological niches. They are found in extreme environments such as hot springs, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and highly acidic or alkaline habitats.
Key Differences from Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes:
Archaea exhibit several novel features that differentiate them from both prokaryotes (bacteria) and eukaryotes. These differences include:
1. Cellular Structure: Archaea possess a unique cellular structure that sets them apart from both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. They have a cell membrane composed of branched hydrocarbon chains, which provide stability in extreme environments. In contrast, prokaryotes have straight-chain fatty acids, and eukaryotes have fatty acids with ester linkages.
2. Genetic Material: Archaea possess a single circular chromosome, similar to prokaryotes. However, their DNA replication and transcription mechanisms share more similarities with eukaryotes. This distinction makes archaea stand out as a distinct domain of life.
3. Metabolic Pathways: Archaea exhibit unique metabolic pathways that are not observed in other domains. For example, some archaea are capable of utilizing alternative energy sources such as hydrogen, methane, or sulfur. They also have unique enzymes involved in these metabolic processes.
4. Cell Wall Composition: Archaea have cell walls that are chemically distinct from both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Their cell walls lack peptidoglycan, which is a characteristic component of bacterial cell walls. Instead, archaeal cell walls contain pseudopeptidoglycan or other unique polymers.
5. Extremophiles: Many archaea are known as extremophiles, as they can survive and thrive in extreme environments. They can tolerate high temperatures, extreme pH levels, high salt concentrations, and high pressures. This ability to adapt to harsh conditions further emphasizes their unique characteristics.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, archaea possess several novel features that distinguish them from both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. These features include their cellular structure, genetic material, metabolic pathways, cell wall composition, and ability to thrive in extreme environments. The classification of archaea into a separate domain of life highlights their distinctiveness and importance in the overall diversity of living organisms.
In the light of recent classification of living organisms into three ...
Archaebacteria represent a cell type that seems to possess the characteristics of both prokaryotes as well as eukaryotes. In size, the archaebacteria are about 1μm in diameter, the size of typical prokaryotes lack membrane-bound organelles, nuclear bodies are not bound by nuclear membranes as it is in eukaryotes and ribosomes are 70 S, the size of those found in typical prokaryotes. They have unique cell wall that lacks peptidoglycan, closely resemble the eukaryotic cells in the mechanisms of protein synthesis, structural proteins, and RNA compliments of the ribosomes and a very distinctive feature of archaebacterial genes is the presence of introns, elements that are totally unknown in other prokaryotes, though relatively common in eukaryotes.Archaebacteria also possess unique characteristic found in neither eukaryotes nor prokaryotes. For example, their membrane contain branched chain lipids with ether. This enables them to tolerate extremes of heat and pH
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