DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BACTERIA AND ARCHAEA

Major Structural and Physiological characteristics of Bacteria and Archaea

Characteristics	Bacteria	Archaea
Cell wall	Peptidoglycan	Polymers other than Peptidoglycan
Muramic acid in Cell wall	Present	Absent
Membrane Lipids	Composed of branched carbon chains attached to glycerol by ether linkage	Composed of straight carbon chains attached to glycerol by ester linkage
Chromosomes	Single or few and Circular	Single and Circular
Number of Sequence shared with Eukarya	One	Three
First Amino acid in Protein synthesis	Methionine	Formyl methionine
rRNA Loop	Lacking	Present
Common arm of tRNA	Lacking	Present
Photosynthesis	Present	Absent
Site of Photosynthesis	Plasma membrane	Absent
Chromatophores	Present only in Photosynthetic bacteria	Absent
Histones	Absent	Present
Endospores	Present	Absent
Growth above 100 °C	Absent	Present
Methanogenesis	Absent	Present
DNA Dependent RNA Polymerase	One enzyme with Simple sub-unit pattern (6 sub-units)	One enzyme with Complex sub-unit pattern (8 to 12 sub-units)
Polymerase II Type Promoters	Absent	Present
Mesosomes	Present	Absent