Question

15.1. differentiate between bacteria and archaeans, and explain why they are together referred to as prokaryotes.
while studying environmental samples collected from the ground cover of the amazon rainforest, you isolate a new microorganism. you note that it is single - celled, lacks a nucleus, and is found only in areas of the rainforest that remain humid year - round. based on this information, how would you best describe this organism?
complete the passage by filling in the blank(s). drag the word(s) below to fill in the blank(s) or use your keyboard to choose word(s) from the dropdown menus.
the organism is a from the domain since it organelles and lives in an environment.
extreme ordinary eukarya contains lacks eukaryote archaea bacteria prokaryote

Explanation:

• Prokaryote: Prokaryotes are single - celled organisms that lack a nucleus and membrane - bound organelles. The organism described is single - celled and lacks a nucleus (implied by lacking organelles as a nucleus is a membrane - bound organelle), so it is a prokaryote.
• Archaea: Archaea are often found in extreme or unique environments. While a humid environment might not be as "extreme" as a high - temperature or high - salt environment in the traditional sense of archaeal extremophiles, compared to the more common habitats of Bacteria (which are widespread in many ordinary environments), and given the lack of information to suggest it is Bacteria (no information about cell wall composition etc. which is a key differentiator between Bacteria and Archaea in some cases), and considering the domain classification, Archaea is a more appropriate choice. Also, the domain Bacteria has organisms that can be in a wide range of environments including less "unique" ones, but the problem doesn't give bacterial - specific traits (like peptidoglycan in cell walls).
• Lacks: Prokaryotes lack membrane - bound organelles (including a nucleus).
• Ordinary: A humid environment (year - round) is not an extreme environment in the sense of high temperatures (like hot springs) or high salinity (like salt lakes) that are typical for some well - known archaeal extremophiles, but compared to the laboratory - like "extreme" (e.g., highly acidic, radioactive etc.), a humid rain - forest environment is more of an ordinary (common in nature for some organisms) but still a bit unique (as it's a specific niche) environment. However, since the options are "extreme" and "ordinary", and it's not a typical extreme (as per common archaeal extremophile examples), "ordinary" is the better fit.

Answer:

The organism is a prokaryote from the domain Archaea since it lacks organelles and lives in an ordinary environment.