Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In the earlier two-empire system arising from the work of Édouard Chatton, prokaryotes were classified within the empire Prokaryota. However, in the three-domain system, based upon molecular phylogenetics, prokaryotes are divided into two domains: Bacteria and Archaea. A third domain, Eukaryota, consists of organisms with nuclei.
The main distinguishing feature of eukaryotes as compared to prokaryotes is compartmentalization: the presence of membrane-bound organelles (compartments) in which specific activities take place. Most important among these is a cell nucleus , [ 2 ] an organelle that houses the cell's DNA .
Prokaryotes have fewer organelles than eukaryotes. Both have plasma membranes and ribosomes (structures that synthesize proteins [clarification needed] and float free in cytoplasm). Two unique characteristics of prokaryotes are fimbriae (finger-like projections on the surface of a cell) and flagella (threadlike structures that aid movement). [2]
Bacteria (prokaryotes, together with Archaea) share many common features. These commonalities include the lack of a nuclear membrane, unicellularity, division by binary-fission and generally small size. The various species can be differentiated through the comparison of several characteristics, allowing their identification and classification.
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.
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.
The two-domain system is a biological classification by which all organisms in the tree of life are classified into two domains, Bacteria and Archaea. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] It emerged from development of knowledge of archaea diversity and challenges the widely accepted three-domain system that classifies life into Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya . [ 4 ]
Although the term bacteria traditionally included all prokaryotes, the scientific classification changed after the discovery in the 1990s that prokaryotes consist of two very different groups of organisms that evolved from an ancient common ancestor. These evolutionary domains are called Bacteria and Archaea. [5]