Eukaryotic cell and its structural and functional organization

The formation of a eukaryotic cell became the second most important (after the appearance of life itself) evolutionary event. The main and fundamental difference between eukaryotes and prokaryotic organisms is the presence of a more perfect system of the genome. Thanks to the emergence and development of the cell nucleus, the degree of adaptability of unicellular organisms to regularly changing conditions of existence and the ability to adapt quickly without introducing significant inherited changes in the gene system has dramatically increased.

The eukaryotic cell, whose cytoplasm is a region of active metabolic processes safely separated from the zone of storage, reading and reduplication of genetic information, has proved capable of further biological evolution. This epoch-making and fateful evolutionary event, according to scientists, occurred no later than 2.6 billion years ago at the junction of two geological milestones - Archean and Proterozoic.

The growth of adaptability and stability of biological structures is an indispensable condition for a full-fledged biological evolution. It is by its high adaptive capacity that the eukaryotic cell could evolve to multicellular organisms with a complex structural organization. Indeed, in multicellular biological systems, cells with the same genome, adapting to changing conditions, form completely different tissues, both in their morphological properties and in functionality. This is the great evolutionary victory of the eukaryotes, which caused the emergence of such a grandiose variety of life forms on the planet and the appearance on the evolutionary arena of the man himself.

The structure of cells of the eukaryotic type has several characteristic features that are not characteristic of prokaryotes. The eukaryotic cell contains a large amount of genetic material (90%), which is concentrated in chromosomal structures, which ensures their differentiation and specialization. Any eukaryotic cell is characterized by the presence of an isolated nucleus. This is the main distinguishing feature of cells of this type. Another important difference from prokaryotes is the organoids of the eukaryotic cell - permanent and diverse intracellular structures.

The eukaryotic cell, in comparison with the prokaryotic cell, has a more complex multistage system of perception of various substances. In nature, there is no typical universal eukaryotic cell type. All of them are characterized by an incredible variety, which is due precisely to the need for evolutionary adaptation. A very important feature of eukaryotes is their inherent compartmentalization - the localization of all biochemical processes in individual cell compartments separated by an intracellular membrane. Eukaryotes have a number of complex structural components. Such as the membrane system; Cytoplasmic matrix, which is the main intracellular substance; Cellular organelles are the main functional components of eukaryotes.