Archaea characteristics
From Palaeos
| Archaea |
| Fossil record | Phylogeny | Characteristics | Ecology | Links | References |
[edit] Characters
(from Cavalier-Smith, 2002) Cell membrane of prenyl ether lipids. Flagellar shaft of acid-insoluble glycoproteins related to pilin. DNA binding protein 10b. tRNA modifications, including archaeosine in D-loop and absence of queuine. Tiny large subunit ribosomal protein, LX. No Hsp90 chaperone. RNA polymerase A split into two proteins. Glutamate synthetase split into three proteins.
[edit] Size and Form
Individual archaea range from 0.1 μm to over 15 μm in diameter, and some form aggregates or filaments up to 200 μm in length. They occur in various shapes, such as spherical, rod-shaped, spiral, lobed, or rectangular. Recently, a species of flat, square archaeon that lives in hypersaline pools has been discovered [.ref link. They also exhibit a variety of different types of metabolism. The halobacteria can use light to produce ATP, although no archaea conduct photosynthesis with an electron transport chain, as occurs in other groups. Archaea are often very tolerant of extreme heat, living in environments such as hydrothermal vents.
Credits Characters CKT050119, Size and Form Wikipedia, copied MAK060928
