Prokaryotic DNA:
- Is found freely in the cytoplasm (within a region called the nucleoid)
- Is naked (i.e. not bound with proteins and therefore doesn’t form chromatin)
- Genomes are compact (contain little repetitive DNA and no introns)
- Contains extra-chromosomal plasmids
- Is circular in shape
Eukaryotic DNA:
- Is contained within a nucleus
- Is bound to histone proteins
- Genomes contain large amounts of non-coding and repetitive DNA (including introns)
- Do not contain plasmids (but organelles such as the mitochondria may contain their own chromosomes)
- Are linear in shape
Prokaryotic vs Eukaryotic DNA
