Domain (biology)

LifeDomainKingdomPhylumClassOrderFamilyGenusSpecies
The hierarchy of biological classification's eight major taxonomic ranks. Life is divided into domains, which are subdivided into further groups. Intermediate minor rankings are not shown.

In biological taxonomy, a domain (/dəˈmeɪn/ or /doʊˈmeɪn/) (Latin: regio[1]), also dominion,[2] superkingdom, realm, or empire, is the highest taxonomic rank of all organisms taken together. It was introduced in the three-domain system of taxonomy devised by Carl Woese, Otto Kandler and Mark Wheelis in 1990.[1]

According to the domain system, the tree of life consists of either three domains, Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya,[1] or two domains, Archaea and Bacteria, with Eukarya included in Archaea.[3][4] In the three-domain model, the first two are prokaryotes, single-celled microorganisms without a membrane-bound nucleus. All organisms that have a cell nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles are included in Eukarya and called eukaryotes.

Non-cellular life, most notably the viruses, is not included in this system. Alternatives to the three-domain system include the earlier two-empire system (with the empires Prokaryota and Eukaryota), and the eocyte hypothesis (with two domains of Bacteria and Archaea, with Eukarya included as a branch of Archaea).

  1. ^ a b c Woese C, Kandler O, Wheelis M (1990). "Towards a natural system of organisms: Proposal for the domains Archaea, Bacteria, and Eucarya". Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 87 (12): 4576–4579. Bibcode:1990PNAS...87.4576W. doi:10.1073/pnas.87.12.4576. PMC 54159. PMID 2112744.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Moore1974 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Nobs, Stephanie-Jane; MacLeod, Fraser I.; Wong, Hon Lun; Burns, Brendan P. (2022). "Eukarya the chimera: Eukaryotes, a secondary innovation of the two domains of life?". Trends in Microbiology. 30 (5): 421–431. doi:10.1016/j.tim.2021.11.003. PMID 34863611. S2CID 244823103.
  4. ^ Doolittle, W. Ford (2020). "Evolution: Two domains of life or three?". Current Biology. 30 (4): R177–R179. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.01.010. PMID 32097647.