Archaea

Top 10 Characteristics of Archaea

1. Most ancient lifeforms - more ancient than eubacteria
   
2. Many live in extreme environments with conditions which most organisms cannot tolerate
3. Some are autotrophs, most others are heterotrophs
4. Have variety of nutritional requirements, hence the abilitity to live in taxing environments
5. Reproduce through binary fission like bacteria
6. Cell walls contain no peptidoglycan
7. Also known as extremophiles
8. Come in categories: thermophiles (thrive in conditions of extreme heat), halophiles (thrive in high salt concentration), methanogens (produce methane in areas of very low oxygen content), acidophiles (thrive in conditions with high acidity)
9. Very little information is known about them
10. Play key roles within the carbon and nitrogen cycles
    

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Archaea bacteria are unicellular organisms which are not harmful, and can be found in a variety of extreme environments, such as areas of high salt concentration, high sulfur concentration, very high heat, and below 0 temperatures. They reproduce asexually, and are both heterotrophic and autotrophic. They make great use of their environments to produce food.