The cells present in prokaryotic organisms do not have membrane bound organelles. These cells are called as prokaryotic cells.
The characteristics of prokaryotic cells are:
-
Prokaryotic cells are smaller in size ranging from 1-10 µm.
-
They have three basic structures- Plasma membrane, nuclear material and cytoplasm.
-
The nuclear material is DNA which is without histone proteins. It is naked (in direct contact with cytoplasm) and called as a nucleoid or genophore. They contain a single chromosome. Nucleolus and Nuclear membrane absent.
-
Membrane bound organelles such as mitochondria are absent in prokaryotic cells.
-
Ribosomes are small, membrane-less of 70S types made up of two subunits i.e. 50S and 30S.