There are only two basic types of cells, primitive prokaryotes and the more complex eukaryotes. Here are the main features that distinguish these cell types.
What Is a Cell?
Living things are constructed of cells and can be unicellular (one cell) or multicellular (many cells).
Limits on Cell Size
Cells size is limited because cells must be able to exchange materials with their surroundings. In other words, surface area relative to the volume decreases as size of cell increases, and this limits the size of cells.
Cell Theory
Only a few hundred years ago it was believed that living things could spontaneously generate from non-living matter -- abiogenesis. We now know better. Cell theory lays out the basic rules that apply to the smallest unit of life. This cell doctrine states that:
All organisms are composed of one or more cells.
Cells are the basic unit of structure and function in organisms.
All cells come only from other cells.
Two Basic Types of Cells
All cells fall into one of the two major classifications: prokaryotes or eukaryotes.
Prokaryotic Cells
Prokaryotes are evolutionarily ancient. They were here first and for billions of years were the only form of life. And even with the evolution of more complex eukaryotic cells, prokaryotes are supremely successful. All bacteria and bacteria-like Archaea are prokaryotic organisms.
Eukaryotic Cells
Eukaryotic cells are more complex, evolving from a prokaryote-like predecessor. Most of the living things that we are typically familiar with are composed of eukaryotic cells; animals, plants, fungi and protists. Eukaryotic organisms can either be single-celled or multi-celled.
Features of Prokaryotes
Pro = “before”, karyon = “nucleus”
Prokaryotes, the first living organisms to evolve, are primarily distinguished by the fact that they lack a membrane-bound nucleus. In fact, the only membrane in prokaryotic cells is the plasma membrane--the outer boundary of the cell itself. Their genetic material is naked within the cytoplasm, ribosomes their only type of organelle.
Prokaryotes are most always single-celled, except when they exist in colonies. These ancestral cells, now represented by members of the domains Archaea and Eubacteria, reproduce by means of binary fission, duplicating their genetic material and then essentially splitting to form two daughter cells identical to the parent.
Features ofEukaryotes
Eu = “true”, karyon = “nucleus”
The most noticeable feature that differentiates these more complex cells from prokaryotes is the presence of a nucleus, a double membrane-bound control center separating the genetic material, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), from the rest of the cell.
In addition to the plasma membrane, eukaryotic cells contain internal membrane-bound structures called organelles. Organelles, such as mitochondria and chloroplasts, are both believed to have evolved from prokaryotes that began living symbiotically within eukaryotic cells. These vital organelles are involved in metabolism and energy conversion within the cell. Other cellular organelles within eukaryotic cell structure carry out the many additional functions required for the cell to survive, thrive, grow and reproduce.
Eukaryotic cells can reproduce in one of several ways, including meiosis (sexual reproduction) and mitosis (cell division producing identical daughter cells).
Park Talaro, K. (2008) Foundations in Microbiology.
The copyright of the article Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells in Microbiology is owned by Tami Port. Permission to republish Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
is the eukaryote cell have a membrane and the prokaryote dont have?
Aug 16, 2008 7:59 AM
Tami Port :
Both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells have a plasma membrane, the membrane
that surrounds the cell. Only eukaryotic cells have an endomembrane system,
a collection of intracellular membrane-bound organelles (such as vesicles,
lysosomes,endoplasmic reticulum, golgi apparatus,and mitochondria. This
system of organelles functions to transport material into, out of and
within the cell. In prokaryotic cells, everything inside of the plasma
membrane is just floating around naked in the cytoplasm.
Aug 19, 2008 11:45 AM
Guest :
can we find about fifty differences b/w prokaryotes & eukaryote?
Dec 26, 2008 5:26 PM
Guest :
is the cell membrane eukaryotic or prokaryotic?
Dec 27, 2008 5:38 AM
Tami Port :
Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells have a cell membrane (plasma
membrane). This is the only membrane that prokaryotic cells have.
Eukaryotes have a complex endomembrane system which includes the plasma
membrane and several membrane-bound organelles, such as the endoplasmic
reticulum, Golgi apparatus, vesicles and lysozomes. The endomembrane system
moves materials into, out of and within the cell for processing.
Jan 7, 2009 6:53 AM
Guest :
does the eukaryote cell have a membrane and the prokaryote doesn't
Jan 9, 2009 12:15 PM
Guest :
HHrmmm... I read the article and it mentioned which had the membrane. Maybe you could read it?
Jan 9, 2009 1:20 PM
Tami Port :
There seems to be a lot of questions about cell membranes and whether they
are present in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. So I went back and
revised the article a bit to clarify this point. Hope it helps.
Jan 11, 2009 4:17 AM
Guest :
wht shape does eukaryotic cells hve???
Jan 11, 2009 7:17 PM
Guest :
why exactly have prokaryotes evovled into eukaryotes?
Jan 12, 2009 8:08 PM
Guest :
Thank you very much for your helpful article, I appreciate it!
Jan 14, 2009 7:39 PM
Guest :
Can we find about 10 differences b/w prokaryotes & eukaryote?
Jan 18, 2009 10:56 AM
Guest :
What are the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?
Jan 21, 2009 12:27 PM
Guest :
Thank you for letting me prove my older brother wrong!
Jan 25, 2009 7:48 PM
Guest :
What about erythrocytes? They basically have no nuclei, mitochondria and
other organells at maturity. So are they considered cells?
Jan 28, 2009 1:44 PM
Guest :
are prokaryote cells unicellular or multicelluar?
Feb 2, 2009 9:34 AM
Guest :
u can actually make it more interesting. i mean there should be summarised
differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells which should make it
possible for the reader to read the whole of it.
Feb 3, 2009 5:21 PM
Guest :
I believe that the information was helpful in ways. Although I would like
if it gave a little more information on what the differences were other
than how they came to be. Not that I don't think it was helpful I'm just
looking for a little more information.
Feb 4, 2009 4:17 AM
Tami Port :
Readers,
See the link at the bottom of this article (the last
link) that will take you to a new piece that I've written in which I
specifically list the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
Hope this helps.
Feb 9, 2009 1:53 PM
Guest :
are animal cells and plant cells eukaryotic or prokaryotic
Feb 21, 2009 9:56 PM
Guest :
im doing an assignment at school on stem cells and how they help to treat
diseases like cancer and all that. im having a bit of trouble finding what
cell is involved in a stem cell ( im assuming its a eukaryote,) what cell
structure is involved e.g. anaerobic repiration, protein synthesis and how
the cell does its job to help to treat people. i know its a lot of
stuff but it would help a lot if you could give me a hand:) thanks
Feb 26, 2009 7:27 PM
Guest :
hey, does anyone know the sizes of a eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell? like
its in nanometers, right? i'm still looking but i'm trying to find out, so
if anyone knows...
Mar 1, 2009 2:48 PM
Guest :
I'm doing a project differing bacterial cells and plant cell i collected
some samples of compost dirt and I'm trying to look for cellulose
decomposer bacteria.I'm having a problem with the introduction and i dont
know what to put...
Mar 2, 2009 1:32 PM
Guest :
Nice breakdown. Thanks!!
Mar 9, 2009 10:25 AM
Guest :
Where is this "new" link??
Apr 15, 2009 3:31 PM
Guest :
Why does a prokayotic cell do not cantain a nucleus? Doesn't that concoct a
problem within a cell?
Apr 27, 2009 11:47 AM
Guest :
IS PROKARYOTIC CELL IS BIG OR EUKARYOTIC CELL???
Apr 28, 2009 1:05 AM
Guest :
Which type of ribosome is present in Prokaryotic Cell and Eukaryotic Cell?
May 4, 2009 10:56 AM
Guest :
Do prokaryotic and eukaryotic membranes have distinctively different
radiofrequency spectroscopic characteristics?
May 12, 2009 11:47 PM
Guest :
This is HILARIOUS! GUYS u cant be serious rite? Lave poor Tami
alone, the poor thing had been bombarded with questions for almost 10
months now. The info is all there, wat more so u want?
May 13, 2009 11:25 AM
Tami Port :
Regarding the May 12 comment ... Thank you. I get these type of requests
relating to all of my prokaryotic vs eukaryotic articles.
BTW,
Suite101 articles do not allow the inclusion of formatted tables, or I
would put some of this info in tabular form. That being said, probably all
of the basic info that the cell-curious need is here, or in the articles
linked to this one.
Students, you need to both read and think
in order to learn and understand this stuff. There are no short cuts. If
you are having difficulties keeping track the difference between
prokaryotes and eukaryotes, make a table...1st column 'Prokaryote' second
column 'Eukaryote'. For each of the lines of the table, list a
characteristic, such as 'size', 'genetic material', 'organelles both cell
types have', organelles only one cell type has'...etc. You will learn while
you fill in the table, organizing the information to suit your particular
needs.
Hope this helps.
May 26, 2009 2:08 PM
Guest :
So,which one has a more distinct nucleus?
Jun 4, 2009 12:38 AM
Guest :
I am attending college, and would like to thank you for your helpful
information! I tend to have a difficult time learning biology-related
material, and this helped so much! Thank you!
Jun 15, 2009 5:25 PM
Guest :
Hi, someone asked the question if animal and plant cells were prokaryotic
or eukaryotic. They're eukaryotic, meaning they have a nucleus. Eukaryotic
literally means possessing a true nucleus, and prokaryotic means before the
nucleus.
Jun 20, 2009 2:32 AM
Guest :
this site is too helpfull .......has gud amount of info............ -Riteekaa
Jun 24, 2009 4:14 AM
Guest :
what are the OTHER differences of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?? can u
give me some .. i need it for my assignment.. thanks
Jul 2, 2009 5:13 AM
Guest :
in
what year did the prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells discovered?
Jul 9, 2009 8:29 AM
Guest :
what is the differentiation between prokaryotic and eukaryotic?
Jul 9, 2009 4:10 PM
Tami Port :
To the person who posted the last comment: Did you read the article? Did
you go to the links the article directs you to for more information? I
continue to be astonished by these questions.
Jul 10, 2009 12:21 PM
Guest :
prokaryotes reproduce new cells by what?
Jul 11, 2009 2:13 AM
Guest :
can you give me ten examples of prokaryotic cells?!
Jul 11, 2009 8:06 PM
Guest :
are there other cells????
Jul 14, 2009 3:05 AM
Guest :
who are the people first discovered on this PROKARYOTE and EUKARYOTE?
Jul 21, 2009 8:48 PM
Guest :
is virus can call a cell?
Jul 22, 2009 1:23 AM
Guest :
im so so so confused. what is the energy metabolism of a prokaryotic
and an eukaryotic cell?
i think that is true.... both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells are the only
classification of cells.... that is true
from a german
scientists, stephen colonia and russelie columbus
Aug 11, 2009 5:37 AM
Guest :
May i know whether there are some protists which are prokaryotic?
Aug 12, 2009 6:20 PM
Guest :
they are same have cell membrane
Aug 25, 2009 8:18 AM
Guest :
Add more pictures with lables.
Aug 25, 2009 11:59 AM
Tami Port :
Regarding the request for pictures with diagram; there are four very
complete labeled diagrams of cells at the end of this article. Just click
on any image and it will be expanded so that you can see the labels.
Aug 31, 2009 10:18 PM
Guest :
what is the size of prokaryotic cell?
Sep 9, 2009 6:51 PM
Guest :
Seriously people...most of the info is there...if you know how to read. If
not go learn braille. Anyway if something that you are searching for isn't
here...search Google...that's why it exists in the first place. Yeeesh. Anyway nice article Tami.
P.S.: The guest who asked about
radiofrequency of prokaryotes...search some studies not basic gistual
articles.
Sep 14, 2009 1:03 PM
Guest :
is bread mould a Eukaryote or Prokaryote? same question for Amoeba as well
please
Sep 21, 2009 9:52 PM
Guest :
Are humans made of eukaryotic cells or prokaryotic cells?
Sep 24, 2009 5:15 AM
Guest :
do both dthe cell uses mitosis as part of replication
Sep 24, 2009 5:17 PM
Guest :
i dont get the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic.What are the
structure and the functions of all the cells of them?
Oct 4, 2009 4:43 PM
Guest :
do both prokayotic and eukaryotic have flagellum?
Oct 6, 2009 11:37 PM
Guest :
Both cells have plasma membranes, if that's what you're asking. Eukaryote
has a nucleus which is double-membrane bounded while the prokaryote
doesn't.
Oct 7, 2009 9:53 AM
Guest :
what accounts for the difference in shape of cells?
Oct 12, 2009 11:36 AM
Guest :
If i do not acknowledge the excellence of your article then i am a selfish
reader.you have done a great work here. in answer to a particular
question:what are the diffrences between Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes?
(1)Proka are single cell while euka are mlticellular organisms eg Amoeba
and Fugi respectively (2)Prokaryot reproduces through mitosis-asexsual
while Eukaryot,through both mitosis and meiosis-sexual and asexsul
(3)Prokaryot has a large surface area for uptake of nutrients and excretion
of waste while Eukaryot has a reduced surface area..the smaller the size of
a cell the larger its surface area(4)Prokaryot has no nuclear membrane
while Eukaryot has nuclear membrane....pro-before and eu-true..karyot means
nucleus......so i see no reason why people should post questions again
rather,comments to encourage the writers.once again well done OBATAYO
AKINWALE MICROBIOLOGY(B.S.C) OLABISI ONABANJO
UNIVERSITY,AGO-IWOYE,OGUN STATE NIGERIA.....akinwaleobatayo@yahoo.com
Oct 31, 2009 2:33 AM
Guest :
why doesn't prokaryotic cells have a Golgi Apparatus
Nov 4, 2009 1:55 AM
Guest :
can we say eucaryotes are better than procaryotes? pls justify.......
