Before entering fully into the definition of the term eukaryotic cell, we are going to proceed to know the origin of the two words that give it its shape:
-Cell is a noun that derives from Latin, specifically from “cellula” which can be translated as “small cell”. It is the result of the sum of “cella”, which is synonymous with “cell”, and the diminutive suffix “-ula”.
-Eucariot, on the other hand, we have to establish that it is a neologism formed by the sum of several components of Greek origin such as the following: the component “eu”, which means “good”; the noun “karyon”, which is equivalent to “nut”; and the element “-tes”, which is used to indicate “agent”.
The adjective eukaryote is synonymous with eukaryote: a qualifier used with respect to cells that have a differentiated nucleus, which is covered by a membrane.
Eukaryotic cells, therefore, have a cell nucleus defined by the nuclear envelope or membrane. This layer is composed of a double unit of lipid membrane: an inner and an outer membrane separated by the perinuclear space.
The nucleus of eukaryotic cells contains genetic information. It should be noted that molecules can enter and leave this cell nucleus through the pores in the nuclear membrane.
It is important to establish, in addition to all the above, that when speaking of eukaryotic cells, several clearly differentiated types are referred to:
-Plant cells, which are made up of vacuole, cell wall, plastids, plasmodesmata.
-Animal cells, which have vacuoles, centrioles, cell walls and chloroplasts.
-The cells of fungi, which are very similar to plants but have less definition.
In the same way, it is important to establish that eukaryotic cells can reproduce by three methods:
– Budding, which occurs when a bulge appears on the cell and it develops progressively until it encourages the formation of another cell..
-The bipartition that, as its name suggests, consists of a cell dividing into two, giving rise to two identical cells.
-Sporulation, which is when the cell divides what is its nucleus into several replicas and also what is the cytoplasm in new cells.
While eukaryotic cells have a defined nucleus, prokaryotic cells (or prokaryotic cells) are those whose cell nucleus is not delimited. Therefore, in prokaryotic cells, genetic information is dispersed in an area of the cytoplasm known as the nucleoid.
Biologists claim that the evolution from prokaryotic to eukaryotic cells allowed for greater complexity of life forms. Eukaryotic cells allowed the development of multicellular beings such as animals and plants and favored, in the long term, the creation of multiple species.
The process that led to the creation of eukaryotic cells is known as eukaryogenesis. Prokaryotic organisms are linked to the very origin of life; that is why eukaryotic organisms derive from them. The specific moment that led to the emergence of the first eukaryotic cell, however, is not clear, and there are various theories about it.
