Archaea and bacteria are tiny, single-cell organisms which cannot be seen by the naked human eye. They are microbes and both prokaryotes. This means that they do not have a nucleus and lack membrane-bound organelles.
Protists on the other hand are small eukaryotes. They can be unicellular or multicellular, but most of them are unicellular which is characteristic they share with the bacteria and archaea.
- They transcribe sections of their DNA code into RNA, then translate this RNA into protein using complex structures called ribosomes.
- Have cell membranes made of chemicals called phospholipids.
- Have similar biochemical processes, for example the process glycolysis (the process used to break down glucose).
