Thermophiles- live in hot, acidic, aquatic environments
Humicola (thermomyces) lanuginosus
Kingdom Archaebacteria: the oldest organisms living on Earth. The original organism of life on Earth belong to this Kingdom. The defining characteristics of the organisms in this Kingdom are the extreme habitats in which they grow and thrive. Archaebacteria reside in the extreme environments of salt flats, hot, acidic aquatic environments, and anaerobic environments.
The organisms in Kingdom Archaebacteria are more related to the eukaryotes than to the bacteria, despite being prokaryotic, because the RNA polymerase in the organisms is more similar to eukaryotes. The cell walls do not contain peptidoglycan and each each organism has a unique lipid bilayer of cell membranes.
All organisms in this Kingdom are prokaryotic and unicellular. Some organisms are autotrophs, while others are methanogens who harvest energy by converting H2 and CO2 into methane gas.
Archaebacteria have no nervous systems and extracellular digestion. Their circulation is through diffusion. They are obligate anaerobes and survive only in oxygen-free environments.
Archaebacteria reproduce by binary fission, or more simply, through asexual reproduction. The bacterial DNA replicates during the process of binary fission. Binary fission is a very fast process, some species dividing every 20 minutes.
Examples of organisms in the Kingdom Archaebacteria include: methanomethylovorans, halophiles such as Haloterrigena, and thermoacidiophiles, such as humicola (thermomyces) lanuginosus.
Methanogens- live in anaerobic environments
Halophiles- lives in extreme environment of salt flats
Haloterrigena
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Kingdom eubacteria, archaebacteria with cyanobacteria. (2011). Retrieved from http://webhome.broward.edu/~fsearcy/BSC1011C/archaebacteria_eubacteria.pdf
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Baxamusa, B. N. (2010). Archaebacteria examples. Buzzle, Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/archaebacteria-examples.html
