Question
There are more genera of bacteria and archaeans in the world than of eukaryotes, and more individuals. However, the total mass of prokaryotes is thought to be approximately equal to that of eukaryotes. How can this be?
Step 1
The average dry weight of a prokaryotic cell is approximately $2 \times 10^{-13}$ g or 200 fg (femtograms). On the other hand, the average mass of a eukaryotic cell is 3.5 pg (picograms), which is 20% of the eukaryotic cell mass. Show more…
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Why can prokaryotic population numbers be magnitudes larger than populations of multicellular eukaryotes? Prokaryotes have cell walls made of cellulose and short generation times. Prokaryotes that reproduce by binary fusion have longer generation times. Prokaryotes are small, lack complex structure, and have short generation periods. Prokaryotes are complex and reproduce by binary fusion.
How does the number of prokaryotic organisms compare to the number of eukaryotic organisms?
Why do eukaryotes have larger subunits than prokaryotes?
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