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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 .
A mitochondrion (pl. mitochondria) is an organelle found in the cells of most eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi.Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used throughout the cell as a source of chemical energy. [2]
The eukaryotic cell is thought to have arisen when an ancestral archaeal cell internalized an aerobic bacterium (the proto-mitochondrion). Mans et al. [ 5 ] proposed that the evolutionary development of the eukaryotic cell nucleus was triggered by this archaeo-bacterial symbiosis .
The DNA of a prokaryotic cell consists of a single circular chromosome that is in direct contact with the cytoplasm. The nuclear region in the cytoplasm is called the nucleoid. Most prokaryotes are the smallest of all organisms, ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 μm in diameter. [1] [page needed] A prokaryotic cell has three regions:
In eukaryotes, these redox reactions are catalyzed by a series of protein complexes within the inner membrane of the cell's mitochondria, whereas, in prokaryotes, these proteins are located in the cell's outer membrane. These linked sets of proteins are called the electron transport chain. In eukaryotes, five main protein complexes are involved ...
The post-glycolytic reactions take place in the mitochondria in eukaryotic cells, and in the cytoplasm in prokaryotic cells. [6] Although plants are net consumers of carbon dioxide and producers of oxygen via photosynthesis, plant respiration accounts for about half of the CO 2 generated annually by terrestrial ecosystems. [7] [8]: 87
Not all eukaryotic cells have each of the organelles listed below. Exceptional organisms have cells that do not include some organelles (such as mitochondria) that might otherwise be considered universal to eukaryotes. [19] The several plastids including chloroplasts are distributed among some but not all eukaryotes.
If a cell's mitochondria or chloroplasts are removed, the cell does not have the means to create new ones. [66] In some algae, such as Euglena, the plastids can be destroyed by certain chemicals or prolonged absence of light without otherwise affecting the cell: the plastids do not regenerate.