ARCHAEA Domain Archaea is mostly composed of cells that live in extreme environments.

While they are able to live elsewhere, they are usually not found there because outside of extreme environments they are competitively excluded by other organisms. Species of the domain Archaea are not inhibited by antibiotics, lack peptidoglycan in their cell wall (unlike bacteria, which have this sugar/polypeptide compound), and can have branched carbon chains in their membrane lipids of the phospholipid bilayer. It is believed that Archaea are very similar to prokaryotes that inhabited the earth billions of years ago. It is also believed that eukaryotes evolved from Archaea, because they share many mRNA sequences, have similar RNA polymerases, and have introns. Therefore, it is believed that the domains Archaea and Bacteria branched from each other very early in history, and membrane infolding produced eukaryotic cells in the archaean branch approximately 1.7 billion years ago. There are three main groups of Archaea: extreme halophiles, methanogens, and hyperthermophiles. Archaea: Archaea are a group of microscopic organisms that were discovered in the early 1970s. Like bacteria, they are single-celledprokaryotes. Archaeans were originally thought to be bacteria until DNA analysis showed that they are different. In fact, they are so different that the discovery prompted scientists to come up with a new system for classifying life. There is still much about archaeans that is not known. What we do know is that they can exist under some of the most extreme conditions, such as extremely hot, acidic, or alkaline environments. Three Domains: Organisms are now classified into three Domains. The Domains are Eukaryota, Eubacteria, and Archaea. There are three main divisions of archaeans. These divisions are: Crenarchaeota, Euryarchaeota, and Korarchaeota. Crenarchaeota: Crenarchaeota consist mostly of hyperthermophiles and thermoacidophiles. Hyperthermophilic microorganisms live in extremely hot or cold environments. Thermoacidophiles are microscopic organisms that live in extremely hot and acidic environments. Their habitats have a pH between 5 and 1. You would find these organisms in hydrothermal vents and hot springs. Crenarchaeota Species: Examples of Crenarchaeotans include:

Sulfolobus acidocaldarius - found near volcanic environments in hot, acidic springs containing sulfur. Pyrolobus fumarii - live in temperatures between 90 and 113 degrees Celsius.

Euryarchaeota: Euryarchaeota organisms consist mostly of extreme halophiles and methanogens. Extreme halophilic organisms live in salty habitats. They need salty environments to survive. You would find these organisms in salt lakes or areas where sea water has evaporated. Methanogens require oxygen free (anaerobic) conditions in order to survive. They produce methane gas as a byproduct of metabolism. You would find these organisms in environments such as swamps, wetlands, the guts of animals (cow, deer, humans), and in sewage. Euryarchaeota Species: Examples of Euryarchaeotans include:

Halobacterium - include several species of halophilic organisms that are found in salt lakes and high saline ocean environments. Methanococcus - Methanococcus jannaschii was the first genetically sequenced Archaean. This methanogen lives near hydrothermal vents.

Korarchaeota: Korarchaeota organisms are thought to be very primitive life forms. Little is currently known about the major characteristics of these organisms. We do know that they are thermophilic and have been found in hot springs and obsidian pools. Phylogeny: Archaea are interesting organisms in that they have genes that are similar to both bacteria and eukaryotes. Phylogenetically speaking, archaea and bacteria are thought to have developed separately from a common ancestor. Eukaryotes are believed to have branched off from archaeans millions of years later. This suggests that archaeans are more closely related to eukayotes than bacteria.

IMPORTANCE: The Archaea contribute significantly to global nutrient cycling, but also that they compete successfully in 'mainstream' environments. Recent data suggest that the Archaea provide the major routes for ammonia oxidation in the environment. Archaea also have huge economic potential that to date has only been fully realized in the production of thermostable polymerases. Archaea have furnished us with key paradigms for understanding fundamentally conserved processes across all domains of life. In addition, they have provided numerous exemplars of novel biological mechanisms that provide us with a much broader view of the forms that life can take and the way in which micro-organisms can interact with other species. That this information has been garnered in a relatively short period of time, and appears to represent only a small proportion of what the Archaea have to offer, should provide further incentives to microbiologists to investigate the underlying biology of this fascinating domain.

Phylogenetic tree. Source: NASA and Eric Gaba (from Woese)