Eubacteria
Eubacteria A kingdom (or subkingdom) of prokaryotic organisms that comprise present-day bacteria. They include aerobic and anaerobic species and occur in virtually all habitats. Some live in or on the bodies of other organisms, and may cause disease. Eubacteria are now regarded by many authorities as being quite distinct, in evolutionary terms, from the other group of prokaryotes, the archaebacteria (see Archaea). This is based mainly on comparisons of the nucleotide sequences of ribosomal RNA (see molecular systematics). However, eubacteria have other defining characteristics. For example, virtually all have cell walls containing peptidoglycan, and their membrane lipids contain fatty acids in ester linkage to glycerol, whereas archaebacteria lack peptidoglycan and have ether-linked lipids.
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NEARBY TERMS
Eubacteria
