• Archaea
• Bacteria
• Eukaryotes

Archaea 101

• They're single-celled buddies. Just like bacteria, they don't have a nucleus. But don't be fooled! In many ways, they're more like eukaryotes than bacteria.
• Fun Fact: Some archaea love living on the edge! 🌋 They thrive in crazy places like boiling hot springs, super salty lakes, and even in soda lakes! Kinda like the daredevils of the microbial world.
• Scientists haven't studied them as much as the others. Why? Because they're like that mysterious kid in school—hard to get to know. Many just don't like growing in lab dishes.

• Phototrophic

  • Sunbathers 🌞! They absorb light to get energy.
  • But, plot twist! They don’t use chlorophyll. They've got other cool pigments.
  • Real-world example: Ever seen pink or red areas in salt ponds? That's probably archaea with their special pigments at work!

• Chemotrophic

  • The chemists 🧪! They get energy by changing chemicals around.
  • For instance, they turn Fe²+ (Iron in its "young" form) into Fe³+ (Iron in its "grown-up" form).
  • Real-world example: Ever notice rust forming on old metal? While not directly the work of archaea, it's a similar concept—the oxidation of iron!

• Heterotrophic

  • The scavengers 🍕! They live off carbon compounds they find or "borrow" from other organisms.
  • Real-world example: Remember those molds on old bread? While molds are fungi, not archaea, the concept is similar: living off of other organisms or their by-products.