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What is the difference between prokaryotes and eukaryotes?

Answer:
Prokaryotic cells:
  • Most primitive, earliest form of life
  • Do not have a pre-defined nucleus
  • Chromosomes are dispersed in the cytoplasm
  • Contain no membrane-bound organelles
  • Have circular chromosomes and lack histone proteins
  • Most metabolically diverse
  • Small - typically 1 - 5 micrometers in diameter
  • Have a primitive cytosketetal structures or don't have a cytoskeleton at all
  • Smaller (70S) ribosomes
  • Don't undergo meiosis but reproduce sexually by the transfer of DNA fragments through conjugation

Eukaryotic cells:
  • More complex, evolved organsims
  • Contain true nuclei in which chromosomes are compacted as chromatin
  • Contain membrane-boundorganelles
  • Have linear DNA and contain histone proteins
  • Larger - typically 10-100 micrometers in diameter
  • Have a complex cytosketeton
  • Larger (80S) ribosom
  • Reproduce sexually with the use of meiosis
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