What does prokaryotic cells contain?
Prokaryotic cells have no nucleus.The purpose of the nucleus is to sequester the DNA-related functions of the big eukaryotic cell into a smaller chamber, for the purpose of increased efficiency. This function is unnecessary for the prokaryotic cell, because its much smaller size means that all materials within the cell are relatively close together. Of course, prokaryotic cells do have DNA and DNA functions. Biologists describe the central region of the cell as its “nucleoid” (-oid=similar or imitating), because it’s pretty much where the DNA is located. But note that the nucleoid is essentially an imaginary “structure.” There is no physical boundary enclosing the nucleoid. Eukaryotic DNA is linear; prokaryotic DNA is circular (it has no ends). Eukaryotic DNA is complexed with proteins called “histones,” and is organized into chromosomes; prokaryotic DNA is “naked,” meaning that it has no histones associated with it, and it is not formed into chromosomes. Though many are sloppy about i
