Difference between prokaryotes and eukaryotes

An organism may comprise just a single cell (unicellular), a collection of cells that are not morphologically or functionally differentiated (colonial), or several distinct cell types with specialized functions (multicellular). Among microorganisms, all bacteria and protozoans are unicellular; fungi may be unicellular or multicellular, while algae may exist in all three forms.

All organisms are made up of two distinct cell types, i.e

Procaryotic and
Eucaryotic cells

Prokaryotes	Eukaryotes
Bacteria BGA	Fungi Algae Protozoa Plants Animals

Table1: Groups of procaryotic and eucaryotic organisms

Microorganisms are using structure of microscope size. Previously microorganisms were classified into groups that is Plant and Animal kingdom. This classification was unsatisfactory therefore a third Kingdom Protista was formed.

Protista

This group is divided into two groups

Eukaryotes
Prokaryotes

Prokaryotic & Eukaryotic cells differ from each other in many ways, including size, structural complexity and organization of genetic material (see table 2). The fundamental difference between procaryotic and eucaryotic cells is that eukaryotic cells possess a true nucleus and several other distinct subcellular membrane-bound organelles. Procaryotes have no such organelles and true nucleus.

Differences between prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells

Structure	Prokaryotes	Eukaryotes
Nucleus
Nuclear membrane	Absent	Present
Nucleolus	Absent	Present
Chromosomes/genetic materials	One circular, Free in cytoplasm	More than one (in pair) & present within a membrane-bound nucleus
Deoxyrobonucleoprotein	Absent	Present
Division	Binary	mitosis
Cytoplasm		^{ThePharmapedia.com}
Mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, lysosome, endoplasmic reticulum	All are Absent	All are Present
Ribosomes	Smaller (70S), free in cytoplasm	Larger (80S), free in the cytoplasm or attached to membranes
Respiratory enzymes	Bound to plasma membrane	located in mitochondria
Chemical Composition	_{Prepared by}	^{ThePharmapedia.com}
Sterols	Absent	Present
Muramic acid	Present	Absent
Histone protein	Absent	Present (complexed with DNA)
Cell wall	Usually based on peptidoglycan	When present, based on cellulose or chitin
External features	^{ThePharmapedia.com}
Cilia	Absent	May be present
Flagella	If present, composed of flagellin (Provide rotating motility)	if present, have a complex (9+2) structure (Provide ‘whiplash’ motility).
Pili	May be present	Absent
Size	Typically 1-5 μm	typically 10- 100 μm

Example ThePharmapedia.com	Bacteria & Blue-Green Algae	Fungi, algae (except blue-green algae), Protozoa and Slime molds.