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Eukaryote

A eukaryote is any organism that has complex cells with genetic material organized into a clear membrane-bounded nucleus, and generally also a membranous boundary around the cell. All higher-level organisms are eukaryotes: animals, plants, and fungus. There are also a number of unicellular organisms that are eukaryotes: protists, for instance. Bacteria and similar prokaryotic organisms lack nuclei and complex cell structures.

Due to their complexity, eukaryotes have cells about a thousand times the size of prokaryotic cells. They also have organelles, internal membranes, and a cytoskeleton composed of microfilaments and microtubules. It is highly internally organized. Eukaryotic DNA is organized into chromosomes normally separated from the rest of the cell inside the nucleus.

Some eukaryotes reproduce through one of several sexual methods, while prokaryotes never do.

Among the specialized organelles you'll find in a eukaryote are mitochondria and plastids, which produce, store, and transport energy; mitochondria have their own DNA. Some eukaryotes have flagella, and all have cells with the potential to build flagella.

Eukaryotes emerged at least 800 million years ago, but probably as long ago as 2.1 billion years ago, and include every multicellular form of life ever seen on earth.

Web Resources On Eukaryote

Eukaryotic cells
Eukaryota: More on Morphology

Book Resources On Eukaryote

Eukaryotic Cell Cultures: Basics and Applications by International Cell Culture Congress 1981
Origin of eukaryotic cells by Lynn Margulis

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