Archaea is defined as the kingdom or a group of unicellular organisms that are microscopic in nature. These organisms have prokaryotic cells, which lacks a nucleus and cell membrane. On the other hand, eukaryotic cell is having a well-defined nucleus and all the organelles have a membrane surrounding them.
Archaea have a semipermeable membrane through which the transport of selective materials takes place. Both, archaea and eukaryotic cells have fluid embedded phospholipid bilayer along with proteins and glycoproteins.
Plasma membrane (cell membrane) is a membrane that encloses the cytoplasm and helps in the transportation and regulation of the molecules within and outside the cell. Archaea’s cell membrane is majorly composed of peptidoglycan and its variations.
Few of the archaeal cell membranes replace the fatty acids linked to glycerol in bacterial membrane with isoprene chains. Some of the cell membranes consist of a single layer instead of two layers.
Eukaryotic cell shows various processes, such as osmosis, endocytosis, exocytosis, passive and active transport, with the help of its semi-permeable membrane. Along with the glycolipids, complex lipids such as sterols and cholesterols are also present in the cell membrane of eukaryotic cells.
These help in the stabilization of the molecule. It also makes the membrane less permeable to biological molecules and provides rigidity, enhancing the ability of cell to resist lysis.