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Chromatin is a complex of DNA and protein found in eukaryotic cells. [1] The primary function is to package long DNA molecules into more compact, denser structures. This prevents the strands from becoming tangled and also plays important roles in reinforcing the DNA during cell division , preventing DNA damage , and regulating gene expression ...
Eukaryotic cells are some 10,000 times larger than prokaryotic cells by volume, have their DNA organised in a nucleus, and contain membrane-bound organelles. The division between prokaryotes and eukaryotes has been considered the most important distinction or difference among organisms.
Genomic DNA is tightly and orderly packed in the process called DNA condensation, to fit the small available volumes of the cell. In eukaryotes, DNA is located in the cell nucleus, with small amounts in mitochondria and chloroplasts. In prokaryotes, the DNA is held within an irregularly shaped body in the cytoplasm called the nucleoid. [97]
Through the insertion of multiple genes and telomeres, a shortened minichromosome is produced, which can then be inserted into a host cell. A minichromosome is a small chromatin-like structure resembling a chromosome and consisting of centromeres, telomeres and replication origins [1] but little additional genetic material.
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 23 January 2025. DNA molecule containing genetic material of a cell This article is about the DNA molecule. For the genetic algorithm, see Chromosome (genetic algorithm). Chromosome (10 7 - 10 10 bp) DNA Gene (10 3 - 10 6 bp) Function A chromosome and its packaged long strand of DNA unraveled. The DNA's ...
The nucleoid (meaning nucleus-like) is an irregularly shaped region within the prokaryotic cell that contains all or most of the genetic material. [1] [2] [3] The chromosome of a typical prokaryote is circular, and its length is very large compared to the cell dimensions, so it needs to be compacted in order to fit.
[51]: 14.4 Prokaryotes sometimes supplement their chromosome with additional small circles of DNA called plasmids, which usually encode only a few genes and are transferable between individuals. For example, the genes for antibiotic resistance are usually encoded on bacterial plasmids and can be passed between individual cells, even those of ...
The fact that this organelle contains its own DNA supports the hypothesis that mitochondria originated as bacterial cells engulfed by ancestral eukaryotic cells. [6] Extrachromosomal DNA is often used in research into replication because it is easy to identify and isolate.