Present-day living organisms closest to the root of the "Tree of Life" are

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Based on current evidence, archaea living in both extreme and non-extreme environments appear to share more genetic and biochemical features with the last common ancestor of all life on Earth than any other living organism. While both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria are ancient and important groups, they are thought to have diverged from the root of the Tree of Life earlier than archaea. Eukarya, including amoebae, are a more complex and recently evolved group, more closely related to archaea than to bacteria, but still distant from the root of the Tree of Life.

Present-Day Living Organisms Closest to the Root of the "Tree