Title: Characteristics of Archaebacteria - Biology Wise
Headings: Characteristics of Archaebacteria
Characteristics of Archaebacteria
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Archaebacteria Groups
Characteristics

Content: Some species can multiply from one cell into two in as less time as 20 minutes. During transformation, DNA fragments released by one archaebacterium are taken up by another. In the process of transduction, a bacteriophage (a virus infecting bacterial cells) transfers genetic material from one organism to another. In the process of conjugation, genetic material is exchanged between two bacteria. These mechanisms lead to genetic recombination, causing the continued evolution of archaebacteria. The interactions between archaebacteria and other life forms are either symbiotic or commensal as archaea are not known to pose pathogenic hazard to other organisms. A characteristic unique to archaea is the composition of their cell walls. The archaebacteria cell wall is made of pseudomurein, which is made up of a combination of N-acetyltalosaminuronic acid and N-acetylglucosamine. This kind of cell wall makes archaebacteria immune to the effects of Lysozyme, which is an enzyme produced by a host’s immune system to attack and disable cell walls of pathogenic bacteria. The discovery and study of archaebacteria has opened up a whole new possibility of finding life in the most extreme of environments – places where till now, it was thought, life could not exist.