Archaea Persuasive Essay

Up until 1977, there were only two lineages: Eukaryotes and Prokaryotes. However, Carl Woese a microbiologist revolutionized what was a key principle of biology by introducing a third lineage: Archaea. Woese devised this third lineage that divided Prokaryotes into two discrete classifications. Woese did so by creating a way in which we would now utilize to classify all lineages of organisms. This method involved differentiating the ribosomal RNA of an organism. Carl Woese was a microbiologist who made an astounding impact on biology with many contributions. Creating the ribosomal TOL (tree of life) and discovering the third lineage Archaea were contributions that forever defined biology.

Eugene V. Koonin, the author of this article made
To group all living organisms into two groups, Prokaryotic or Eukaryotic was inaccurate. Archaea, the third domain of life was a lineage that included prominent genetically differentiated microbes from the other two existing domains. Woese concluded at the end of his research that Archaea had originated from a different stem of the UA (Universal Ancestor) that every living organism evolved from. What was previously known before being categorized as Archaea were thought to have only thrived in extremely harsh environments.

The third key point from Koonin's article was the importance of how further exploring microbes were in biology that Dr. Woese proposed. Dr. Woese furthered his studies in order to gain a more extensive insight into evolution. After proposing the third domain of life, many were opposed Dr. Woese's theory. Although some were welcoming and approved of his new theory, the theory of Archaea remained unaccepted for many years. It was not until later on that scientists began to approve Archaea after seeing that their own experiments coincided and agreed with Woese's