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Archaea

Archaea

A domain of cellular life distinct from Bacteria and Eukarya, with diverse metabolisms and habitats.

NCBI TAXONOMY IDENTIFIER2157View source record ↗

Overview

EXPLORE BY LEVEL

Archaea are single-celled organisms. They may look simple like bacteria, but they belong to a separate major branch of life.

Quick Facts

AT A GLANCE
TopicMicrobiology & Immunity

Follow the Connections

See how Archaea links to other biological records.

Open network
ConceptBiogeochemical CyclesinvolveTaxonBacteriadiffers from
All 2 Structured Connections
Biogeochemical Cycles · ConceptINVOLVE →Archaea · Taxon
Bacteria · TaxonDIFFERS FROM →Archaea · Taxon

Recommended Reading

Trusted references for learning more about Archaea.

databaseArchaea (Taxonomy ID 2157)NCBI Taxonomy textbookStructure of Prokaryotes: Bacteria and ArchaeaOpenStax Biology 2e guideWinogradsky Columns: Microbial Ecology in the ClassroomHHMI BioInteractive
Research Claims

Archaeal diversity is broad; some lineages participate in global carbon and nitrogen transformations. Domain-level features should not be generalized to every archaeon.