ARCHAEBACTERIA
"Archaebacteria live their life at the extremes: from hot springs
to salt flats, even to cracks in the earth's crust. They can live where no other
kind of creatures can live, and have evolved amazing chemical pathways that allow
them to do that. Scientists are interested in unraveling these chemical pathways
to give them clues to understand what life might have been like on earth."
|
| DR. NILES ELDREDGE, CURATOR DEPARTMENT OF INVERTEBRATES |
|
KNOWN SPECIES
Approximately 200
|
SIZE RANGE
1 micrometer to 0.02 millimeters
|
WHERE THEY LIVE
In bogs and oceans, inside other organisms, and in extreme
conditions, including hot springs, salt flats, and deep-sea vents
|
ECOLOGICAL ROLES AND HUMAN USES
At the base of the food chain • Food source in extreme
environments • Produce methane as part of the buffering system between
oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere • Used by humans in biotechnology
and other commerical applications
|
|
