Archaea consist of prokaryotic cells, if they have cell walls, there is no peptidoglycan. They are often found in extreme environments. Archaea are not known to cause disease in humans.
Phylum: Crenarchaeota until recently all cultured Crenarchaea had been thermophilic or hyperthermophilic they can grow up in temperatures up to 100 degrees celicius and above. These organisms stain pink and are diverse in morphology having rod, cocci, filamentous and funny shaped cells.
Species: Sulfolobus solfataricus grows in volcanic hot springs because there is sulfur and low pH. "S. solfataricus is used for archaeal research, including DNA replication, the cell cycle, chromosomal integration, and RNA processing." (wikipedia) What is interesting about S. solfataricus is that it has a spherical shape and a clockwise flagellum. The cell wall contains: proteins that allow and monitor the transport of carbohydrates into the cell. S. solfataricus can use one of two methods to get energy for growth. It can either oxidize sulfur, or it can metabolize carbohydrates only though with sulfurs help, sulfur is very important to this organism.
Phylum: Euryarchaeota is a diverse group of organisms that live in extremely salty environments, ironically they originate in the salt lakes but are now also found on the surfaces of highly salted foods like fish and meats. These organisms are called extreme halophiles. They exist where sea water is trapped. This happens because as the water level decreases the salt concentration increases i would assume this happens because the salt gets stuck in resivoirs and the water evaporates so the salt concentration is high and these organisms can flourish. All known extremely Halophilic Archaea stain gram negative and reproduce by binary fission.
Species: Halobacterium found in water with very high levels of salt. Halobacterium can grow aerobically or anaerobically. physically they are described as having purple parts, this purple color is explained as bacteriohodopsin pigment. This pigment is used to absorb light, which provides energy to create ATP. Halobacterium also has a second pigment, halorhodopsin, this pumps chloride ions from the salt in the cell, creating a voltage gradient and assisting in making energy from light. Something interesting about Halobacterium is that it is a life form present on Mars. One of the problems associated with the survival on Mars is the destructive ultraviolet light. Halobacterium have an advantage here. These microorganisms develop a thin crust of salt that can moderate some of the ultraviolet light allowing it to survive the non-ionizing utraviolet radiation that is considered a mutanogen that often kills most bacteria! (pretty cool)
Phylum: Crenarchaeota until recently all cultured Crenarchaea had been thermophilic or hyperthermophilic they can grow up in temperatures up to 100 degrees celicius and above. These organisms stain pink and are diverse in morphology having rod, cocci, filamentous and funny shaped cells.
Species: Sulfolobus solfataricus grows in volcanic hot springs because there is sulfur and low pH. "S. solfataricus is used for archaeal research, including DNA replication, the cell cycle, chromosomal integration, and RNA processing." (wikipedia) What is interesting about S. solfataricus is that it has a spherical shape and a clockwise flagellum. The cell wall contains: proteins that allow and monitor the transport of carbohydrates into the cell. S. solfataricus can use one of two methods to get energy for growth. It can either oxidize sulfur, or it can metabolize carbohydrates only though with sulfurs help, sulfur is very important to this organism.
Phylum: Euryarchaeota is a diverse group of organisms that live in extremely salty environments, ironically they originate in the salt lakes but are now also found on the surfaces of highly salted foods like fish and meats. These organisms are called extreme halophiles. They exist where sea water is trapped. This happens because as the water level decreases the salt concentration increases i would assume this happens because the salt gets stuck in resivoirs and the water evaporates so the salt concentration is high and these organisms can flourish. All known extremely Halophilic Archaea stain gram negative and reproduce by binary fission.
Species: Halobacterium found in water with very high levels of salt. Halobacterium can grow aerobically or anaerobically. physically they are described as having purple parts, this purple color is explained as bacteriohodopsin pigment. This pigment is used to absorb light, which provides energy to create ATP. Halobacterium also has a second pigment, halorhodopsin, this pumps chloride ions from the salt in the cell, creating a voltage gradient and assisting in making energy from light. Something interesting about Halobacterium is that it is a life form present on Mars. One of the problems associated with the survival on Mars is the destructive ultraviolet light. Halobacterium have an advantage here. These microorganisms develop a thin crust of salt that can moderate some of the ultraviolet light allowing it to survive the non-ionizing utraviolet radiation that is considered a mutanogen that often kills most bacteria! (pretty cool)
