See Also: eubacteria(medicine)
eubacteria(encyclopedia)

eubacteria (sh)




Group consisting of the true bacteria, one of two major groups of the prokaryotes.

The other is the archaebacteria, which are as different from eubacteria as either is from eukaryotes. The two groups are thought to have evolved separately from a common ancestor early in earth's history, and they differ in fundamental ways. Virtually all the familiar bacteria that cause diseases (e.g., E. coli, staphylococcus and salmonella strains, mycobacteria) or are important in food, agriculture, biotechnology, and other industrial activity (e.g., Lactobacillus, nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, and lactobacillus and streptomyces strains) are eubacteria.