Prokaryotic Cells and Eukaryotic Cells

Prokaryotic Cell and Eukaryotic Cell: Prokaryotic Cells and Eukaryotic Cells are two types of cells. The major difference between these two is that Prokaryotic Cells do not have any membrane-bound organelles. Also, the true nucleus is absent in prokaryotes. Whereas Eukaryotic Cells contain all the membrane-bound organelles including the true nucleus.

What is a Prokaryotic Cell?

‘Pro’ means primitive and ‘karyon’ means nucleus. This means that Prokaryotic Cells are those which contains primitive nucleus. The true nucleus is absent in the case of prokaryotes. The primitive nucleus is also known as Nucleoid. It is just a region where the DNA of the cell is present. The cell wall of prokaryotes is non-cellulosic and very complex in nature. Their size ranges from 3-5μm. Their cell cycle is not divided into phases. Membrane-bound organelles like Endoplasmic Reticulum, Golgi Apparatus, Plastids, Mitochondria, Centriole, Vacuole, Vesicles are absent. Cilia is also absent in prokaryotic cells. Flagella are made up of flagellin proteins which are randomly arranged and it has three parts, namely, basal body, hook, and filament. Some specialized structures like Pilli, Fimbrae, Mesosomes, Plasmid, and Inclusion Bodies are only present in prokaryotic cells. Examples of Prokaryotes include the whole Monera kingdom ( Eubacteria and Archaebacteria).

What is a Eukaryotic Cell?

‘Eu’ means True and ‘karyon’ means nucleus. This means that Eukaryotic Cells are those which contain true nuclei. The cell wall of prokaryotes can be cellulosic in plants, chitinous in fungi, and absent in animals. Also, the cell wall is very simple in nature. Their size ranges from 10-20μm. Except for RBCs whose size is 7μm. Their cell cycle is divided into proper phases. Membrane-bound organelles like Endoplasmic Reticulum, Golgi Apparatus, Plastids, Mitochondria, Centriole, Vacuole, Vesicles are present. Cilia is also present in eukaryotic cells. Flagella is made up of tubulin protein which has a 9+2 arrangement and it has two parts, namely, basal body and filament. Pilli, Fimbrae, Mesosomes, Plasmid, and Inclusion Bodies are absent in eukaryotic cells. Examples of Eukaryotes include Protista(Unicellular eukaryotes), Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia kingdoms.

Difference Between Prokaryotic cells and Eukaryotic Cells

Features	Prokaryotic Cells	Eukaryotic Cells
True Nucleus	Absent	Present
Cell Wall Composition	Non-cellulosic and complex	Cellulosic (in plants), chitinous (in fungi), absent (in animals)
Size	3-5μm	10-20μm (except RBCs: 7μm)
Cell Cycle	Not divided into phases	Divided into proper phases
Membrane-bound Organelles	Absent	Present
Cilia	Absent	Present
Flagella Structure	The random arrangement of flagellin proteins, basal body, hook, filament	Tubulin protein, 9+2 arrangement, basal body, filament
Specialized Structures	Pilli, Fimbrae, Mesosomes, Plasmid, Inclusion Bodies	Absent
Examples	Monera kingdom (Eubacteria and Archaebacteria)	Protista (Unicellular eukaryotes), Fungi, Plantae, Animalia

FAQs on Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells

Q1: What is the main difference between Prokaryotic Cells and Eukaryotic Cells?

Answer:

The main difference is that Prokaryotic Cells lack membrane-bound organelles and a true nucleus, while Eukaryotic Cells contain membrane-bound organelles, including a true nucleus.

Q2: Are membrane-bound organelles present in Prokaryotic Cells?

Answer:

No, membrane-bound organelles such as the Endoplasmic Reticulum, Golgi Apparatus, Plastids, Mitochondria, Centriole, Vacuole, and Vesicles are absent in Prokaryotic Cells.

Q3: What are some specialized structures found only in Prokaryotic Cells?

Answer:

Prokaryotic Cells have specialized structures such as Pilli, Fimbrae, Mesosomes, Plasmid, and Inclusion Bodies.

Q4: What are the sizes of Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells?

Answer:

Size of prokaryotic cells range from 3-5μm, while Eukaryotic Cells have a larger size of 10-20μm (except for RBCs, which are 7μm).