what is the oldest living organism? course hero

What are the oldest living organisms?

The oldest known living organism is a bristlecone pine that grows in south eastern California's White Mountains, according to ecologist Christopher Earle's online database of conifers. A count of the tree's rings confirms that Methuselah, as the tree is affectionately known, is 4,841 years old.Nov 10, 2010

Which group represents the oldest living plants lineage?

The lycopods or lycophytes are one of the oldest lineages of living vascular plants. They first appeared in the Silurian period (425 million years ago), and became extremely diverse by the late Carboniferous period (323-298 million years ago) and some species grew as trees more than 100 feet tall.

What is the oldest plant known to man?

However, the oldest, precisely measured organism living on Earth today remains, for now, a Great Basin Bristlecone pine tree.Jun 12, 2017

What is the oldest plant fossil?

Proterocladus represents the oldest unambiguous green plant fossil. Fossils of possible older single-celled green plants are still a matter of debate.

Which is the oldest group of bacteria?

Bacteria belong to the oldest group. The prokaryotes are further divided into groups within the domains Archaea and Bacteria, but research is ongoing and a consensus hasn't been reached. Eukaryotes are divided into the kingdoms Plantae, Animalia, and Fungi and the group Protista.

What are the three domains of organisms?

Modern scientists classify all organisms into one of the three domains: Archaea, Bacteria, or Eukarya . A domain is the largest taxonomic grouping of organisms. The differences between types of cells have given biologists a framework for classifying living things and for understanding the relationships between different organisms.

Why is Protista not a kingdom?

The group is not technically a kingdom because the organisms do not all descend from an ancestor that doesn't have descendents in other kingdoms.

How are bacteria and archaea related?

Archaea and bacteria have genetic differences, with archaea being more closely related to eukaryotes than to bacteria. Archaea also use different chemical reactions for metabolism. Prokaryotes, as a group, have diverse mechanisms for obtaining energy and carbon, collectively known as metabolic processes.

Why are archaea and bacteria in the same group?

This division was based on the presence or absence of a nucleus. Archaea and Bacteria were placed in the same group because they are prokaryotes. Modern technology has allowed a deeper understanding of additional structural and lifestyle differences between the Archaea and Bacteria.

How many prokaryotes are there in the human body?

Humans have from 1,000 to 10,000 prokaryotes on every square centimeter of their skin and many more living inside their digestive systems. Prokaryotes are also found on plants, among roots and on bark and leaves.

What is the classification of eukaryotes?

Classification of a Eukaryote and a Prokaryote. The classification of organisms begins with distinguishing a eukaryote (domain Eukarya) from a prokaryote (either domain Bacteria or Archaea). The levels of classification are, in order of specificity, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.

How long have microbes been around?

Microbes are the oldest group of organisms on the Earth. Microbes were the first living organisms on Earth; they have been around for at least 3.8 billion years – 80% of the Earth’s 4.6 billion year history. Compare that to the dinosaurs, which lived on earth for only 165 million years, or 3.5% of the Earth’s history!

What are the three main nutrients that all living organisms need?

The three main nutrients that all living organisms require are nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon. Microbiologists estimate that microbes are the largest reservoir of nitrogen and phosphorus stocks on the planet and that they are tied with plants as a carbon reservoir.

Why are microbes important to the ecosystem?

It is obvious, then, that understanding how microbes function in ecosystems is necessary to have a comprehensive view of how the biological world works.

Why are microbes found in so many different environments?

Because microbes are found in so many different environments, they represent, collectively, an incredible diversity of metabolisms. Metabolism is a product of the organism’s genes, thus microbes also possess remarkable genetic diversity.

What are the two things that bacteria make?

Bacteria are used in food production to make cheese, yogurt, sauerkraut, and pickles. Ruminant animals, including cows, sheep, and goats, are dependent on gut bacteria to digest their diet of plants. Yeast, a eukaryotic microbe, makes our bread, beer, and wine possible.

When did phototrophs first appear?

Oxygenic phototrophs did not arise until about a billion years later, when ancient cyanobacteria first appeared. These microorganisms oxygenated the Earth’s atmosphere, paving the way for the evolution of multi-cellular life.

Do microbes have ecological processes?

Given the ancient history of microbes, their global distribution, and their metabolic and genetic diversity, it is not surprising that they are involved in all ecological processes on Earth. The types of ecological activities depend on the species composition, population sizes, and physiological states of microbial communities.