Prokaryotic Cells
- Created by: catherine312
- Created on: 17-04-22 23:16
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- Prokaryotic Cells
- Very small, about 0.5-10.0 um long
- Some contain small circular pieces of genetic material called plasmids that are separate from the nucleoid
- Can be used as CARRIERS (VECTORS) of genes between cells
- Many have a CAPSULE or SLIME LAYER outside the cell wall
- Has several functions ; eg it stops the cell from drying out
- Protecting against digestion by a host's digestive enzymes
- Has NO membrane bound organelles
- Cell wall made of peptidoglycan, NOT CELLULOSE!!
- This wall maintains the shape of the cell and prevents bursting if water enters by OSMOSIS
- DO NOT have a membrane bound nucleus
- Instead they have strands of DNA in the center of the cell know as the NUCLEOID or CIRCULAR DNA
- Contain RIBOSOMES (smaller than those in eukaryotes)
- Ribosomes are the site of PROTEIN SYNTHESIS
- Can have short protein rods called pili projecting from the walls
- They stick cells together
- The PLASMA MEMBRANE has the same structure in prokaryotes and eukaryotes
- It is the main boundary between the cell and the environment
- SOME bacteria have a long tail-like structure called a FLAGELLUM
- FLAGELLA have a whip-like structure that rotates to produce movement
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