Archaea are a gruo pf phylogenically related prokaryotes distinct from Bacteria

Bacteria are a group of phylogenically related prokaryotes distinct from Archaea

Cladistics are phylogenetic methods that group organisms by their evolutionary relationships, not by their phenotypic similarities

DNA-DNA hybridization is the experimental determination of genomic similarity by measuring the extent of hybridization of DNA from the genome of one organism with that of another

An ecotype is a population of genetically identical cells sharing a particular resource within an ecological niche

Evolution is defined as descent with modification

FAME stands for "fatty acid methyl ether" and is used in the determination of water contamination in several water treatment facility as it detects the presence of various biological contaminants

The FISH practice stands for fluorescent in-situ hybridization which is useful both in the environment and in culture

Fitness is the capacity of an organims to survive and reproduce as compared to competing organisms

To be monophyletic, you must be within a group derived from the same ancestor

MLST is a taxonomic tool for classifying organisms on the basis of gene sequence variations in several housekeeping genes

A phylogenetic probe is an oligonucleotide, somestimes made fluorescent by attachment of a dye, complementary in sequence to some ribosomnal RNA signature sequence

Proteobacteria are a large group of phylogenetically related Gram - bacteria

The ribosomal database project is a large database of small subunit ribosomal RNA sequences that can be retrieved electronically and used in comparative ribosomal RNA sequence studies

Ribotyping is a means of identifying microorganisms from analysis of DNA fragments generated from restriction enzyme digestion of genes encoding their 16S rRNA

A signature sequence is short oligonucleotides of defined sequence in SSU ribosomal RNA characteristic of specific organisms or a group of phylogenetically related organisms

16S ribosomal RNA is a large polynucleotide (about 1,500 bases) that functions are part of the small subunit of the ribosome of bacteria and archaea and from whose gene sequence evolutionary information can be obtained. The eukaryotic counterpart to 16S is 18S

A stromatolite is a laminated mocrobial mat, typically built from layers of filamentous bacteria and other microorganisms which can become fossilized