The Archaebacteria

The pioneering work of Carle Woese has broken down the confines of thinking that organisms are either eukaryotes or prokaryotes. Three lines of evolutionary descent are now suggested - eubacteria, eukaryotes and archaebacteria. Archaebacteria are so named because they all grow in extreme environments which are thought to have existed during early life on earth. This conference explored the biochemistry and molecular biology of these organisms and then examined how these cells and their uniquely stable constituents might be used to meet the demands of industry's biotechnological future.