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Prokaryotes evolved before eukaryotes, and lack nuclei, mitochondria, and most of the other distinct organelles that characterize the eukaryotic cell. Some unicellular prokaryotes, such as cyanobacteria, form colonies held together by biofilms, and large colonies can create multilayered microbial mats.
Monera (/məˈnɪərə/) (Greek: μονήρης (monḗrēs), "single", "solitary") is historically a biological kingdom that is made up of prokaryotes. As such, it is composed of single-celled organisms that lack a nucleus. The taxon Monera was first proposed as a phylum by Ernst Haeckel in 1866.
Prokaryotes lack membrane-bound organelles, such as mitochondria or a nucleus. [6] Instead, most prokaryotes have an irregular region that contains DNA, known as the nucleoid. [7] Most prokaryotes have a single, circular chromosome, which is in contrast to eukaryotes, which typically have linear chromosomes. [8]
The classification of archaea, and of prokaryotes in general, is a rapidly moving and contentious field. Current classification systems aim to organize archaea into groups of organisms that share structural features and common ancestors. [22]
Cells are broadly categorized into two types: eukaryotic cells, which possess a nucleus, and prokaryotic cells, which lack a nucleus but have a nucleoid region. Prokaryotes are single-celled organisms such as bacteria, whereas eukaryotes can be either single-celled, such as amoebae, or multicellular, such as some algae, plants, animals, and fungi.
Compartmentalization is a feature of prokaryotic photosynthetic structures. [2] Purple bacteria have "chromatophores" , which are reaction centers found in invaginations of the cell membrane. [ 2 ] Green sulfur bacteria have chlorosomes , which are photosynthetic antenna complexes found bonded to cell membranes. [ 2 ]
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Bacteria (prokaryotes, together with Archaea) share many common features. These commonalities include the lack of a nuclear membrane, unicellularity, division by binary-fission and generally small size. The various species can be differentiated through the comparison of several characteristics, allowing their identification and classification.