What is the Difference Between Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic DNA?

The main differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic DNA are as follows:

1. Location: Prokaryotic DNA is found freely in the central portion of the cytoplasm, while eukaryotic DNA is found inside the nucleus.
2. Shape: Prokaryotic DNA is circular, whereas eukaryotic DNA is linear.
3. Bases: Eukaryotic DNA contains adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine bases, whereas prokaryotic DNA contains uracil, thymine, guanine, and cytosine bases.
4. Structure: Prokaryotic DNA is naked, meaning it is not bound with proteins and does not form chromatin, while eukaryotic DNA is bound to histone proteins.
5. Genome Size and Complexity: Prokaryotic DNA is smaller and more compact, with little repetitive DNA and no introns, while eukaryotic DNA is larger and more linear, containing large amounts of non-coding and repetitive DNA, including introns.
6. Introns: Prokaryotic DNA does not have introns, but eukaryotic DNA does.
7. Replication: DNA replication in prokaryotes occurs in the cytoplasm, while in eukaryotes, it occurs in the nucleus.
8. GC Content: Prokaryotic DNA generally has a higher GC content than AT content, while eukaryotic DNA has an AT content that is four times greater than its GC content.

Comparative Table: Prokaryotic vs Eukaryotic DNA

Here is a table highlighting the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic DNA:

In summary, prokaryotic DNA is smaller, circular, and located in the cytoplasm, while eukaryotic DNA is larger, linear, and located within the nucleus. Prokaryotic DNA is not bound to histone proteins and lacks transposons, whereas eukaryotic DNA is bound to histone proteins and contains transposons.