Skip to main content
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology pp 754–757Cite as

Eukarya

  • 332 Accesses

Synonyms

Eucarya; Eukaryote

Definition

Eukarya is one of the three domains of life distinguished from Bacteria and Archaea at the morphological and molecular levels. All members of the Eukarya have a nucleus and are further distinguished from Bacteria and Archaea by a complex cellular organization with ultrastructural features including but not limited to nuclear pores, endoplasmic reticulum, 9 + 2 flagellar apparatus, mitotic spindle formation, acidified vacuoles, Golgi apparatus, multiple linear chromosomes, eukaryotic telomeres, and cellular processes that typically include mitosis, meiotic sex, endocytosis, and mitochondrial respiration. They are also differentiated from the other two domains by the presence of specific genes and proteins (e.g., tubulins, actin, dyneins, centrin, myosin, calmodulin, and ubiquitin).

Overview

Members of the domain Eukarya include both unicellular and multicellular representatives from the ∼1-μm ocean-dwelling “picoplanktonic” alga Ostreococcusto...

Keywords

  • Classification
  • Domain
  • Tree of life

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • DOI: 10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_537
  • Chapter length: 4 pages
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
eBook
USD   1,299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-3-662-44185-5
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Hardcover Book
USD   1,699.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions

References and Further Reading

  • Amaral-Zettler LA, McCliment EA, Ducklow HW, Huse SM (2009) A method for studying protistan diversity using massively parallel sequencing of V9 hypervariable regions of small-subunit ribosomal RNA genes. PLoS One 4:e6372

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Baldauf SL (2003) The deep roots of eukaryotes. Science 300:1703–1706

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Burki F, Shalchian-Tabrizi K, Minge M, Skjaeveland A, Nikolaev SI, Jakobsen KS et al (2007) Phylogenomics reshuffles the eukaryotic supergroups. PLoS One 2:e790

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Cavalier-Smith T (1987) The origin of fungi and pseudofungi. In: Rayner ADM (ed) Evolutionary biology of the fungi. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 339–353

    Google Scholar 

  • Gogarten JP, Kibak H, Dittrich P, Taiz L, Bowman EJ, Bowman BJ et al (1989) Evolution of the vacuolar H+ -ATPase: implications for the origin of eukaryotes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 86:6661–6665

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Hampl V, Hug L, Leigh JW, Dacks JB, Lang BF, Simpson AGB et al (2009) Phylogenomic analyses support the monophyly of Excavata and resolve relationships among eukaryotic “supergroups”. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106:3859–3864

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Keeling PJ, Burger G, Durnford DG, Lang BF, Lee RW, Pearlman RE et al (2005) The tree of eukaryotes. Trends Ecol Evol 20:670–676

    Google Scholar 

  • Lane CE, Archibald JM (2008) The eukaryotic tree of life: endosymbiosis takes its TOL. Trends Ecol Evol 23:268–275

    Google Scholar 

  • Massana R, Pedros-Alio C (2008) Unveiling new microbial eukaryotes in the surface ocean. Curr Opin Microbiol 11:213–218

    Google Scholar 

  • Pace NR (2006) Time for a change. Nature 441:289–289

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Parfrey LW, Barbero E, Lasser E, Dunthorn M, Bhattacharya D, Patterson DJ et al (2006) Evaluating support for the current classification of eukaryotic diversity. PLoS Genet 2:e220

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson DJ (1999) The diversity of eukaryotes. Am Nat 154:S96–S124

    Google Scholar 

  • Roger AJ (1999) Reconstructing early events in eukaryotic evolution. Am Nat 154:S146–S163

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson AGB, Roger AJ (2004) The real “kingdoms” of eukaryotes. Curr Biol 14:R693–R696

    Google Scholar 

  • Sogin ML (1991) Early evolution and the origin of eukaryotes. Curr Opin Genet Dev 1:457–463

    Google Scholar 

  • Wainright PO, Hinkle G, Sogin ML, Stickel SK (1993) Monophyletic origins of the metazoa: an evolutionary link with fungi. Science 260:340–342

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Woese CR, Fox GE (1977) Phylogenetic structure of the prokaryotic domain: the primary kingdoms. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 74:5088–5090

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Woese CR, Kandler O, Wheelis ML (1990) Towards a natural system of organisms: proposal for the domains archaea, bacteria, and eucarya. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 87:4576–4579

    ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Biological Laboratory, Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA

    Linda Amaral-Zettler

Authors
  1. Linda Amaral-Zettler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Linda Amaral-Zettler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS-Universite de Bordeaux, Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, Floirac, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  2. University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    William M. Irvine

  3. Departamento de Biologia Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  4. Earth–Life Science Institute (ELSI), Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro–ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Henderson James (Jim) Cleaves II

  5. GEOTOP Research Center for Geochemistry and Geodynamics, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Daniele L. Pinti

  6. Department of Astrophysics, Laboratory of Molecular Astrophysics, Iorrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  7. LESIA, Observatoire Paris-Site de Meudon, Meudon, France

    Daniel Rouan

  8. Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institut für Planetenforschung, Berlin, Germany

    Tilman Spohn

  9. Centre François Viéte d'Histoire des Sciences et des Techniques EA 1161, Faculté des Sciences et des, Techniques de Nantes, Nantes, France

    Stéphane Tirard

  10. CNES/DSP/SME, Vétérinaire/DVM, Astro/Exobiology, Paris Cedex 1, France

    Michel Viso

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this entry

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Amaral-Zettler, L. (2015). Eukarya. In: , et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_537

Download citation