Question

What are the similarities and differences of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?

Answer 1

Prokaryotic cell:

1. The term “prokaryote” is derived from the Greek word “pro“ (meaning: before) and “karyon” (meaning: nuclei). It translates to “before nuclei.“
2. The prokaryotic cells are represented by bacteria, blue-green algae, mycoplasma, and PPLO (Pleuro Pneumonia Like Organisms).

Eukaryotic cell:

1. The term “Eukaryotes” is derived from the Greek word “eu“, (meaning: good) and “karyon” (meaning: nuclei), therefore, translating to “good or true nuclei.”
2. The eukaryotes include all protists, plants, animals, and fungi. In eukaryotic cells, there is extensive compartmentalization of cytoplasm through the presence of membrane-bound organelles.

	Prokaryotes	Eukaryotes
Type of Cell	Always unicellular	Unicellular and multi-cellular
Cell size	Ranges in size from 0.2 μm – 2.0 μm in diameter	Size ranges from 10 μm – 100 μm in diameter
Cell wall	Usually present; chemically complex in nature	When present, chemically simple in nature
Nucleus	Absent. Instead, they have a nucleoid region in the cell	Present
Ribosomes	Present. Smaller in size and spherical in shape	Present. Comparatively larger in size and linear in shape
DNA arrangement	Circular	Linear
Mitochondria	Absent	Present
Cytoplasm	Present, but cell organelles absent	Present, cell organelles present
Endoplasmic reticulum	Absent	Present
Plasmids	Present	Very rarely found in eukaryotes
Ribosome	Small ribosomes	Large ribosomes
Lysosome	Lysosomes and centrosomes are absent	Lysosomes and centrosomes are present
Cell division	Through binary fission	Through mitosis
Flagella	The flagella are smaller in size	The flagella are larger in size
Reproduction	Asexual	Both asexual and sexual
Example	Bacteria and Archaea	Plant and Animal cell