prokaryotes

Cultural  

1. Organisms whose cells do not have a nucleus in which DNA is housed and which lack many of the organelles found in more advanced cells. The kingdom of Monera or Prokaryotae is composed of single-celled prokaryotes. (Compare eukaryotes.)

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It is thought that prokaryotes were the first cells to appear on Earth.

Example Sentences

"The Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, with the first microbial life forms appearing over 4 billion years ago. These organisms consisted of two groups -- bacteria and the distinct but related archaea, collectively known as prokaryotes," said co-author Anja Spang from the Department of Microbiology & Biogeochemistry at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.

From Science Daily

For hundreds of millions of years, prokaryotes were the only living organisms on the planet.

From Science Daily

Davide Pisani, Professor of Phylogenomics in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol and co-author, noted: "Previous ideas on how and when early prokaryotes transformed into complex eukaryotes has largely been in the realm of speculation. Estimates have spanned a billion years, as no intermediate forms exist and definitive fossil evidence has been lacking."

From Science Daily

The researchers examined more than one hundred gene families across multiple biological systems and focused on the traits that separate eukaryotes from prokaryotes.

From Science Daily

Bacteria are the best-understood prokaryotes, and because of their simple genetic structure, provided the team with the ideal host to analyze the mechanisms and machinery involved in the ribosome-RNAP coupling during gene expression.

From Science Daily