Archaea

archaea, (domain Archaea), any of a group of single-celled prokaryotic organisms (that is, organisms whose cells lack a defined nucleus) that have distinct molecular characteristics separating them from bacteria (the other, more prominent group of prokaryotes) as well as from eukaryotes (organisms, including plants and animals, whose cells contain a defined nucleus). Archaea is derived from the Greek word archaios, meaning “ancient” or “primitive,” and indeed some archaea exhibit characteristics worthy of that name. Members of the archaea include: Pyrolobus fumarii, which holds the upper temperature limit for life at 113 °C (235 °F) and was found living in hydrothermal vents; species of Picrophilus, which were isolated from acidic soils in Japan and are the most acid-tolerant organisms known—capable of growth at around pH 0; and the methanogens, which produce methane gas as a metabolic by-product and are found in anaerobic environments, such as in marshes, hot springs, and the guts of animals, including humans.

tree of life illustrating the three-domain classification of life-forms

In some systems for classifying all of life, the archaea constitute one of three great domains of living creatures. In 1977 American microbiologist Carl Woese, on the basis of analyses of ribosomal RNA, proposed that the prokaryotes, long considered to be a single group of organisms (essentially, the bacteria), actually consist of two separate lineages. Woese called these two lineages the eubacteria and the archaebacteria. These names were subsequently changed to bacteria and archaea (the archaea being distinctly different from bacteria), but Woese’s splitting of the prokaryotes into two groups has remained, and all living organisms are now considered by many biologists to fall into one of three great domains: Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. Further molecular analysis has shown that domain Archaea consists of two major subdivisions, the Crenarchaeota and the Euryarchaeota, and one minor ancient lineage, the Korarchaeota. Other subdivisions have been proposed, including Nanoarchaeota and Thaumarchaeota.