Bacteria are one of the types of biological cells. A large category of prokaryotic microorganisms is bacteria. Bacteria are usually single-celled organisms that live and thrive in different environments. They are present in almost everything, soil, the river, the ocean even the human feces.
The varieties of bacteria are available on this earth. Some are harmful to humans and some are brilliantly useful too. The categories of bacteria are scientifically based on the nature of their cell walls and shapes. Few are categorized based on genetic makeup as well.
Belonging to the same prokaryotes’ family, based on their genetic makeup, there are two types available. One is the Archaea and the other is the Eubacteria.
Archaea vs Eubacteria
The main difference between the Archaea and Eubacteria is that Archaea is a single-celled bacterium that thrives in extreme conditions while eubacteria live and thrive in normal conditions. Archaea is the oldest bacteria ever known while the earth was formed.
Both Archaea and Eubacteria belong to the kingdom called Monera.
Comparison Table Between Archaea and Eubacteria (in Tabular Form)
| Parameter of Comparison | Archaea | Eubacteria |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning/ Definition | Archaea are a type of bacteria that are single-celled and simple microorganisms that are capable of living and thriving in extreme conditions. They belong to the Monera Kingdom. | Eubacteria are a type of bacteria that are single-celled and complex microorganisms that are capable of living and thriving in normal conditions. They also belong to the Monera Kingdom. |
| Places of existence | Archaea are widely found in very unusual environments. Ocean depth, volcanic sites, Salt brine. | Eubacteria are found almost everywhere. It is found in all living and non-living organisms, soil, water, etc. |
| Reproduction | Archaea follows Asexual reproduction. This usually happens by binary fission, fragmentation or at times by budding process too. | Eubacteria produces spores. This allows them to live in not so favorable conditions also. They reproduce Sexually as well as Asexually. |
| Cell Wall | The cell wall is pseudopeptidoglycan. | The cell wall is made up of peptidoglycan with muramic acid or sometimes with lipopolysaccharide. |
| Impact factor | Archaea are non-pathogens, meaning they are not harmful and never causes diseases in humans | Eubacteria are pathogens, meaning they may cause diseases in humans. |
What is Archaea?
Archaea are single-celled and simple microorganisms that live and thrive in extreme conditions. They are extensively found in places like deep ocean bed, salt brine and also in volcanic eruption sites. They belong to the Monera Kingdom and they are prokaryotes. Archaea are also commonly called as extremophiles.
Archaea are of different shapes. A few are flat and square-shaped while many are in the shapes of spirals, rods, plates, and spheres. The cell wall of archaea is made of pseudopeptidoglycan. Archaea have been observed to have lipids linked with ether with the branching of aliphatic acid.
The reproduction process of Archaea is carried out Asexually. The Asexual reproduction process is carried out by budding or fragmentation or even by the binary fission process. There are three types of Archaea identified to date. They are Methanogens, Thermophiles, and Halophiles. Indeed, the archaea are non-pathogens.
Methanogens are widely used for wastewater treatment as it converts carbon dioxide and bacterial waste to methane. Likewise, thermophiles and halophiles have their uses to the human community.
The outer cellular layer called the membrane plays a vital role in archaea. They act as a barrier to the cell and the external environment which makes them thrive very strongly in extreme environmental conditions.
What is Eubacteria?
Eubacteria are a type of bacteria that are single-celled and complex microorganisms that are capable of living and thriving in normal conditions. They are found almost everywhere in the earth; like the soil, water, living and non-living organisms.
Eubacteria also belong to the Monera kingdom and they are also prokaryotes. Eubacteria are simply known as bacteria as well. Eubacteria do not have the nucleus and also some membrane organelles. As such all the processes take place in the cytoplasm.
The cell wall of eubacteria is made up of peptidoglycan. Eubacteria has ester links with fatty acids. The shapes of Eubacteria are Spherical, rod, cocci, and spiral. The bacteria are enclosed in an envelope which protects and regulates the transport of materials.
They reproduce sexually as well as asexually. They are capable of reproducing under unfavorable conditions too.
Eubacteria are pathogens too, meaning they can be harmful and cause sickness in humans. As such there are non-pathogenic eubacteria too.
There are two types of Eubacteria that exists. One is the gram-positive eubacteria and the other is gram-negative eubacteria. Eubacteria follows the glycolysis pathway and Kreb’s cycle to produce energy. Thymine is present in the tRNA of the Eubacteria whereas Introns are absent.
Main Differences Between Archaea and Eubacteria
- Archaea and Eubacteria belong to the same Monera Kingdom; however, they differ in many aspects. The main difference between Archaea and Eubacteria is, archaea live and thrive in extreme conditions whereas eubacteria can be found almost everywhere.
- Archaea reproduces Asexually by binary fission, fragmentation, and budding process while Eubacteria reproduces both Asexually as well as Sexually.
- Archaea are completely Non-Pathogens while eubacteria have both pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria.
- The cell wall of Archaea is made up of Pseudopeptidoglycan as they also have ether bonds with aliphatic acid while eubacteria have a lipid membrane ester links with fatty acids.
- Archaea do not follow glycolysis or Kreb’s cycle for metabolic activities but follow a similar pathway whereas Eubacteria follows glycolysis and Kreb’s cycle to breakdown glucose and produce energy.
Conclusion
Archaea and Eubacteria are single-celled microorganisms that show some similarities morphologically. But they differ in many other properties
Being in the prokaryote’s family, they lack cell membrane and nucleus. The need for both types of bacteria is of immense help to the humankind. Archaea has a lot of benefits to mankind and so does eubacteria.
Methanogens are widely used in the production of biogas and also sewage water treatment. Eubacteria supports the digestion of food and also helps preparing curd, yogurt.
The eubacteria help people from infected with certain sicknesses too. Archaea and Eubacteria form a prime part of the earth, without which mankind cannot survive.
References
- https://www.cell.com/trends/genetics/fulltext/S0168-9525(99)01966-6
- https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bpb/31/2/31_2_173/_article/-char/ja/
- https://www.pnas.org/content/93/3/1071.short