Archaebacteria

Archaebacteria are primitive prokaryotes uniquely adapted to survive in extreme environments - hot springs, highly saline water, low pH - and most of them are chemoautotrophic. Their defining chemical feature is the presence of unusual lipids, glycerol and isopropyl ethers, in their cell membrane; this distinctive chemistry is also what makes them resistant to the antibiotics and lytic agents that normally target ordinary bacterial ce …