PROKARYOTE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does prokaryote mean? 

• PROKARYOTE (noun)
  The noun PROKARYOTE has 1 sense:

1. a unicellular organism having cells lacking membrane-bound nuclei; bacteria are the prime example but also included are blue-green algae and actinomycetes and mycoplasma

  Familiarity information: PROKARYOTE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PROKARYOTE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A unicellular organism having cells lacking membrane-bound nuclei; bacteria are the prime example but also included are blue-green algae and actinomycetes and mycoplasma

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

procaryote; prokaryote

Hypernyms ("prokaryote" is a kind of...):

being; organism (a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently)

Antonym:

eukaryote (an organism with cells characteristic of all life forms except primitive microorganisms such as bacteria; i.e. an organism with 'good' or membrane-bound nuclei in its cells)

Derivation:

prokaryotic (having cells that lack membrane-bound nuclei)

 Context examples 

Cysteine biosynthesis occurs by a distinct mechanism in plants and prokaryotes.

(Biosynthesis of Cysteine Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

In GGR-NER the first step of damage recognition involves XPC-hHR23B complex together with XPE complex (in prokaryotes, uvrAB complex).

(Nucleotide Excision Repair Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

Single-celled organisms lacking nuclei, similar to prokaryotes in most aspects of cell structure and metabolism.

(Archaea, NCI Thesaurus)

Originally identified in bacterial proteins and found in many DNA-binding proteins from both eukaryotes and prokaryotes.

(Helix-Turn-Helix Motif, NCI Thesaurus)

Helix-turn-helix motifs were originally identified in bacterial proteins but have since been found in hundreds of DNA-BINDING PROTEINS from both eukaryotes and prokaryotes.

(Helix-Turn-Helix Motif, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

The term microorganism may refer to a prokaryote or eukaryote, and may be a unicellular or multicellular organism.

(Microorganism, NCI Thesaurus)

Genes that encode cytoplasmic proteins of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes that bind to nascent or unfolded polypeptides and ensure correct folding or transport.

(Chaperone Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

A group of genetically identical cells all descended from a single common ancestral cell by mitosis in eukaryotes or by binary fission in prokaryotes.

(Cell Clone, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Cytoplasmic proteins of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes that bind to nascent or unfolded polypeptides and ensure correct folding or transport.

(Chaperone, NCI Thesaurus)

In prokaryotes, the leading strand replication apparatus consists of a DNA polymerase (pol III core), a sliding clamp (beta), and a clamp loader (gamma delta complex).

(DNA Replication Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)