| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,517,314,962 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
archaea |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.12 sec. |
|
archaea: see Archaebacteria Archaebacteria (är'kēbăktĭr`ēə) ..... Click the link for more information. . archaeaA group of prokaryotes whose members differ from bacteria, the most prominent prokaryotes, in certain physical, physiological, and genetic features. The archaea may be aquatic or terrestrial microorganisms. They exhibit a diversity of shapes, including spherical, rodlike, and spiral forms. In addition, archaea can survive in various extreme conditions, including very hot or salty environments. Some archaea require oxygen, whereas others do not. Some produce methane as an end product; others depend on sulfur for their metabolism. The archaea can reproduce by several mechanisms, including binary fission, budding, and fragmentation. While the archaea share some features with bacteria, genetic studies have indicated that archaea are more closely related to eukaryotes than to bacteria. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in periodicals archive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| When Mehta and Baross sequenced a bit of DNA, they found that FS406-22 is an anaerobic archaean, a one-celled organism that looks like a bacterium but has chemical similarities to multicelled organisms. 2003, Archaean cratonization and deformation in the Northern Superior Province, Canada: an evaluation of plate tectonic versus vertical tectonic models: Precambrian Research, v. Strain 121, an archaean (formerly called bacteria) discovered in a "black smoker" thermal vent deep in the Pacific Ocean, holds the record for being the "hottest organism known to man. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Browser extension |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|