Relationship to eukaryotes

Prokaryote (Relationship) to eukaryotes

The division to prokaryotes and eukaryotes is usually considered the most important distinction among organisms. The distinction is that eukaryotic cells have a "true" nucleus containing their DNA, whereas prokaryotic cells do not have a nucleus. One criticism of this classification points out that the word "prokaryote" is based on what these organisms are not (they are not eukaryotic), rather than what they are (either archaea or bacteria) Another difference is that ribosomes in prokaryotes are smaller than in eukaryotes. However, two organelles found in many eukaryotic cells, mitochondria and chloroplasts, contain ribosomes similar in size and makeup to those found in prokaryotes. This is one of many pieces of evidence that mitochondria and chloroplasts are themselves descended from free-living bacteria. One theory is that early eukaryotic cells took in primitive prokaryotic cells by transformation and adapted themselves to encorporate their structures, leading to the mitochondria we see today.
   The genome in a prokaryote is held within a DNA/protein complex in the cytosol called the nucleoid, which lacks a nuclear envelope.[6] The complex contains a single, cyclic, double-stranded molecule of stable chromosomal DNA, in contrast to the multiple linear, compact, highly organized chromosomes found in eukaryotic cells. In addition, many important genes of prokaryotes are stored in separate circular DNA structures called plasmids.
    Prokaryotes lack distinct mitochondria and chloroplasts. Instead, processes such as oxidative phosphorylation and photosynthesis take place across the prokaryotic cell membrane. However, prokaryotes do possess some internal structures, such as prokaryotic cytoskeletons, and the bacterial order Planctomycetes have a membrane around their nucleoid and contain other membrane-bound cellular structures. Both eukaryotes and prokaryotes contain large RNA/protein structures called ribosomes, which produce protein.

   Prokaryotic cells are usually much smaller than eukaryotic cells. Therefore, prokaryotes have a larger surface-area-to-volume ratio, giving them a higher metabolic rate, a higher growth rate, and, as a consequence, a shorter generation time than Eukaryotes.
In 1977, Carl Woese proposed dividing prokaryotes into the Bacteria and Archaea (originally Eubacteria and Archaebacteria) because of the major differences in the structure and genetics between the two groups of organisms. This arrangement of Eukaryota (also called "Eukarya"), Bacteria, and Archaea is called the three-domain system, replacing the traditional two-empire system.

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