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The three-domain system adds a level of classification (the domains) "above" the kingdoms present in the previously used five- or six-kingdom systems.This classification system recognizes the fundamental divide between the two prokaryotic groups, insofar as Archaea appear to be more closely related to eukaryotes than they are to other prokaryotes – bacteria-like organisms with no cell nucleus.
A phylogenetic tree based on rRNA data showing Woese's three-domain system. All smaller branches can be considered kingdoms. Based on RNA studies, Carl Woese thought life could be divided into three large divisions and referred to them as the "three primary kingdom" model or "urkingdom" model. [15]
According to the domain system, the tree of life consists of either three domains, Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya, [1] or two domains, Archaea and Bacteria, with Eukarya included in Archaea. [3] [4] In the three-domain model, the first two are prokaryotes, single-celled microorganisms without a membrane-bound nucleus.
Taxa are hierarchical groups of organisms, and their ranks describes their position in this hierarchy. High-ranking taxa (e.g. those considered to be domains or kingdoms, for instance) include more sub-taxa than low-ranking taxa (e.g. those considered genera, species or subspecies).
Since then, various life forms have been moved into three new kingdoms: Monera, for prokaryotes (i.e., bacteria); Protista, for protozoans and most algae; and Fungi. This five-kingdom scheme is still far from the phylogenetic ideal and has largely been supplanted in modern taxonomic work by a division into three domains: Bacteria and Archaea ...
While there is no commonly used database, there are comprehensive databases such as the Catalogue of Life, which attempts to list every documented species. [101] The catalogue listed 1.64 million species for all kingdoms as of April 2016, claiming coverage of more than three-quarters of the estimated species known to modern science. [102]
The biosphere is postulated to have developed, from the origin of life onwards, at least some 3.5 billion years ago. [74] The earliest evidence for life on Earth includes biogenic graphite found in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks from Western Greenland [ 69 ] and microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone from ...
In 1990, Carl Woese, Otto Kandler and Mark Wheelis proposed a novel "tree of life" consisting of three lines of descent for which they introduced the term domain as the highest rank of classification. They suggested and formally defined the terms Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya for the three domains of life. [22]