ARCHAEA BACTERIA

 Early Origins
 Classification
 What They Look Like?
 What They Eat?
 Where They’re Found?
 How They’re Different?
Phylogenetic tree of life..
 New branch of life....
 In 1970s carl woese proposed -3
domain classification
 Based on sequencing of 16s r RNA
Carl woese
 The organism he revealed-the
achea..
 Classifying Archaea remains
difficult, majority of these
organisms have never been
studied in the laboratory and
have only been detected by
analysis of their nucleic acids
in environmental samples.-
( metagenomics)
Archaea are more wounderful than
you know...!

Thermococcus
gammatolerans – a flagellate
archaeon that thrives in hot,
oxygen-starved waters. Note the
tuft of flagella. This microbe lives
in water hotter than about 160F
 Comparison to other domains

Property Archaea Bacteria Eukarya

Ether-linked lipids, p Ester-linked lipids, Ester-linked lipids, various

Cell Membrane
seudopeptidoglycan peptidoglycan structures

Multiple, linear
Circular chromosomes, Circular chromosomes,
chromosomes, similar
Gene Structure similar translation and unique translation and
translation and
transcription to Eukarya transcription
transcription to Archaea

Internal Cell Structure No membrane-bound No membrane-bound Membrane-bound

organelles or organelles or organelles and nucleus
nucleus nucleus

Various, including
Various, with photosynthesis, aerobic
Metabolism[45] methanogenesis and anaerobic respiration, Photosynthesis and
fermentation, and cellular respiration
unique to Archaea
autotrophy

Reproduction Asexual reproduction, Asexual reproduction, Sexual and asexual

horizontal gene transfer horizontal gene transfer reproduction
Intro d uctio n

Stain either Gram +ve or Gram –ve

Shapes– Spherical, rod, spiral, lobed, irregularly

shaped or pleomorphic

Singlecells or filaments or aggregates, diameter

from 0.1 to over 15 μm

Multiplication
– binary fission, budding,
fragmentation or other unknown mechanisms

C o ntd…
 Physiology
Aerobic, facultative and strictly anaerobic

Range from chemolithotrophs to organotrophs

Mesophilic & hyperthermophiles

Found in extreme environments

Few are symbionts in animal digestive system

eg- the marine archaean Cenarchaeum symbiosum lives
within (is an endosymbiont of) the sponge
Axinella mexicana.[180]

C o ntd…
Archaeal cell envelopes
 One of he distinctive feature of the
archaea is the nature of envelope
 S-layeris the major component of the
cellwall
 Some archaea lacks cellwall but have a
glyocalyx lying out side the cell membrane
 Capsules and slime layers are rare among
archaea
Archaeal cell
walls
 Archael cellwall lacks peptidoglycan and exhibit
considerable variety in terms of their chemical
make up
 The most common type of archaeal cell wall is
an
S-layer composed of either protein or
glycoprotein
the layer may be as thick as 20 to 40 nm.
eg; methanococcus, halobacterium
 Other archaea have additional layers of material
outside the S-layer
methanospirillum has a protein sheath external to
thes-layer
 methanosarcina has a layer of chondroitin- like
material, this material is called methanochondroitin
 In some archaea S-layer is the outer most layer and
seperated from the plasma membrane by
pseudomurein
pseudomurein is a peptidogycan-like molecule.

differs from pepidoglycan in that it has N-

acetyltalosaminuronic acid instead of N-
acetylmuramic acid ,and beta (1 3)glycosidic
linkage insted of beta (1 4) glycosidic
linkage.
eg- Methanobacterium, Methanothermus and
Methanopyrus
 The last type of archael cellwall does not
include an s-layer .these archaea have a wall
with a single, homogenous layer resembling in
gram- positive bacteria
pseudomurein

 Substitutes for N-
Acetylmuramic acid(NAM)
of peptidoglycan
Archaeal Lipids & Membranes
Archaeal plasma membranes

 Archaeal membranes are composed primerly of lipids that

differ from bacterial and eukaryotic in two ways.
1. They contain hydrocarbons derived from isoprene units(five
carbon, branched)
2. Hydrocarbons attached to glycerol by ether linkage rather
than ester links
 Archaeal phospholipids differ from those found in Bacteria and Eukarya in
two ways. First, they have branched phytanyl sidechains instead of linear
ones. Second, an ether bond instead of an ester bond connects the lipid to
the glycerol. C o ntd…
Genetics & Molecular Biology
 Genomes are significantly smaller than bacteria.
E. coli – 2.5 x 109 Daltons
T. acidophilum – 0.8 x 109 Daltons

 Methanosarcina acetivorans,[116] the largest known

archaeal genome.
 Nanoarchaeum equitans, the smallest archaeal genome
known;
 plasmids are also found
 Archaea usually have a single circular chromosome
 Transcription and translation in archaea
resemble these processes in
eukaryotes more than in bacteria
 Archaea have a single type of RNA
Polymerase and similar to eukaryotes
 archaeal genes lack introns
 Hyperthermophiles posses reverse DNA
gyrase
Grand Prismatic Spring at
Yellowstone
National Park, home of lots of
archaebacteria
Metabolism
 Nutritio nal type s in archae al me tabo
lism

Nutritional type Source of energy Source of carbon Examples

Phototrophs Sunlight Organic Halobacteria

compounds

Inorganic Organic Ferroglobus, M

Lithotrophs compounds compounds or ethanobacteria
carbon fixation or Pyrolobus

Organic Organic Pyrococcus,

Organotrophs compounds compounds or Sulfolobus or
carbon Methanosarcinales
fixation
Archaeal Taxonomy
 Members of the domain Archaea are phylogenetically
divided into three kingdoms
 Euryarchaeotoa
 Crenarchaeota
 Korarchaeota
• Phylogeny of domain Archaea based on comparision of
the 16S rRNAsequences.
 Greek Archaios = ancient, primitive
 Greek Eurus = wide(wide distribution);
 Greek Crene = spring, fount (primary habitat).
 Korarchiota = young man
Recently detected
species of archaea.
Archaeal Richmond
Mine acid (ARMAN), which
were discovered in 2006
Phylum Crenarchaeota
 Mostare extremely thermophilic & many are
acidophiles and S dependent

S – as electron acceptor or electron source by

lithotrophs

 Almostall are strict anaerobes & grow in

geothermally heated water / soils that contain
elemental sulfur

C o ntd…
 Divided into one class – Thermoprotrei & three orders :
 Thermoproteales
 Sulfolobales
 Desulfurococcales

 Contain
69 genera – two of the better studied genera are
Thermoproteus & Sulfolobus

C o ntd…
Sulfolobus
 Gram –ve, aerobic, irregularly lobed spherical archaeons

 Optimum temp.– 70 to 80 0C & optimum pH 2 - 3

hence also referred to as thermoacidophiles

 Cell wall – lipoprotein & CH, lacks peptidoglycan

 Grow lithotrophically on S granules in hot S springs oxidizing S to

Sulfuric acid

 Oxygen Is the normal electron acceptor, Fe+3 may be used

C o ntd…
 Sugars & amino acids (glutamate) also serve as C & energy sources

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Thermoproteus
 Gram –ve, strictly anaerobic, hyperthermophilic long thin rod, can
be bent or branched

 Cell wall consists of glycoprotein

 Grows at temp. from 70 - 97 0C & pH 2.5 – 6.5

 Found in hot springs & other hot aquatic habitats rich in sulfur

 Can grow organotrophically & oxidize glucose, amino acids, alcohols

& organic acids with S

C o ntd…
 Grows chemolithtrophically using Hydrogen & S0

 CO & CO2 can serve as the sole C

source
An aquatic spring in Japan with
Thermoproteus growth

C o ntd…
Phylum Euryarchaeota

 Very diverse with 7 classes viz. Methanococcus,

Methanobacteria, Halobacteria, Thermoplasmata,
Thermococci, Archaeglobi & Methanopyri

 Consists of 9 orders & 15 families

 Includes methanogens, extreme halophiles, sulphate reducers

& many extreme thermophiles with S dependent metabolism

C o ntd…
The Methanogens
 Methanogenic bacteria are extremely oxygen
sensitive.
 Methanogens require anaerobic conditions .
 They are found in the digestive systems of
herbivores, marshes or lake bottoms, all sorts of mud
sediments and in man made anaerobic digestors in
sewage treatment plants.
 They can be classified as Chemolithotrophic
methanogens and Methylotrophic methanogens.
 Responsible for methanogenesis
 Methanogenesis is the biological production of CH4 from either CO2
plus H2 or from methylated organic compounds.
 A variety of unique coenzymes are involved in methanogenesis
 chemolithotrophic methanogens that grow with CO2 plus
H2 according to the equation:-
CO2 + 4H2 CH4 + 2H2O

Methylotrophic methanogens that grow with methyl group
containing substrates for eg. Methanol, methylamines, acetate
The reaction for acetate is:
CH3COOH
 CH4 + CH2
5 orders (Methanobacteriales, Methanococcales,
Methanomicrobiales, Methanosarcinales & Methanopyrales) & 26
genera
Diversity of Methanogens
 Demonstrate diversity of cell wall
chemistries
 Pseudomurein (e.g.,
Methanobacterium)
Methanochondroitin (e.g.,
Methanosarcina)
 Protein
or glycoprotein (e.g.,
Methanocaldococcus)
S-layers (e.g., Methanospirillum)
 Some live autotrophically – acetyl coA from two molecules of CO2 &
then converting acetyl coA to pyruvate & other products

 Found in anaerobic environment rich in organic matter

 Rumen & intestine of animals, fresh water &
marine sediments, swamps & marshes, hot springs,
anaerobic sludge digesters & anaerobic protozoa

 Ecological significance

 Cow belches 200 – 400 ltrs CH4/day

 Source of energy for sewage treatment plants

C o ntd…
 Ecological hazards
 Methane gas – Greenhouse gas
 Can oxidize Fe0
 May contribute to corrosion of buried or submerged
iron pipes

Yellowstone National Park

C o ntd…
The Halobacteria
 Class Halobacteria – 15 genera in one family, the Halobacteriaceae

 Aerobic chemoheterotrophs with respiratory metabolism

 Non motile or motile by lophotrichous flagella

 Absolutely dependent on high NaCl conc.

At least 1.5 M NaCl, growth optimum at 3 – 4 M

Cell wall disintegrates below 1.5 M conc.
Grow only in high salinity habitats
Cause spoilage of salted fish
E.g. Halobacterium salinarium
 Unusual type of photosynthesis

 On exposure to sunlight – purple membrane – bacteriorhodopsin

 Four types of rhodopsins

Bacteriorhodopsin – proton transport for ATP

synthesis
Halorhodopsin – uses light energy to transport
chloride ions into the cell & maintains KCl conc.
Remaining two – photoreceptors, one for red light
& one for blue
Purple lake in Australia

C o ntd…
The Thermoplasms
 archaea lack cell wall
 Class Thermoplasmata

 Two genera, Thermoplasma & Pichrophilus

 Thermoplasma
 Grows in refuse piles of coal mines
 Temperatures from 55 – 590C & pH 1-2
 Plasma membrane is strengthened by large
quantities of diglycerol, tetraethers,
lipopolysaccharides & glycolipids
 DNA stabilized by nucleosomes

C o ntd…
 At590C - irregularly shaped & at lower
temperatures – spherical
 May be motile by flagella

C o ntd…
 Picrophilus
Lacks cell wall , has S layer outside PM
Aerobic,irregularly shaped cocci, 1 – 1.5 μm in
diameter
Temp. range 47 – 650C, optimum temp. 600C
pH below 3.5, optimum pH 0.7
Can grow at pH 0

C o ntd…
Extremely Thermophilic S0
Metabolizers
 Class Thermococci, order Thermococcales

 Strictly anaerobic

 Reduce sulfur to sulfide

 Motile by flagella

 Optimum growth temp. 88 –1000C

 Two genera, Thermococcus & Pyrococcus

C o ntd…
Sulfate Reducing Archaea

 Class Archaeglobi, order Archaeoglobales

 Gram –ve, irregular coccoid cells

 Cell wall – glycoprotein subunits

 Electron sources – hydrogen, lactate & glucose, reduce sulfate,

sulfite or thiosulfate to sulfide

S is not used as electron acceptor

 Extremely thermophilic, optimum temp. around 830C, occur in

hydrothermal vents

C o ntd…
Significance of Archaea
 Methanogens are used for the production of methane which is a rich
source of energy (bio gas)
 Methanogenic archaea are a vital part of sewage treatment
 Halophilic archaea are used to prescreen antitumor drugs active on
eukaryotic proteins
 Thermophilic archaea are used in PCR
thermostable DNA polymerases, such as the
Pfu DNApolymerase from Pyrococcus furiosus,
 amylases,galactosidases and pullulanases in other species
of Pyrococcus that function at over 100 °C (212 °F) allow food
processing at high temperatures, such as the production
of lactose milk and whey
 In mineral processing, acidophilic archaea display promise for the
extraction of metals from ores, including gold, cobalt and
copper.