Ck 12: Life Science: Archaea

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] For many years, archaea were classified as bacteria. Like the bacteria, archaea lacked a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles and, therefore, were prokaryotic cells. However, when scientists compared the DNA of the two prokaryotes, they found that there were distinct differences. They concluded that there must be two distinct types of prokaryotes, which they named archaea and bacteria. Learn more about archaea in this learning module produced by CK-12.