The meaning of eukaryote

Eukaryotic cells have membrane-bound organelles (“little organs”). The cell’s nucleus for example is an organelle. Organelles are scattered throughout the cell’s cytoplasm.

All organisms, expect bacteria, are made up of eukaryotic cells. Protozoa, algae, fungi, higher plants and animals are eukaryotic. The nuclear material does not mix with the cytoplasm.

Nucleus serves two important functions. First, it keeps the cell’s genetic material – its DNA – safe and sound. Isolated in its own compartment, the cell’s DNA stays separated from the bustling activity of the cytoplasm and from metabolic processes that might damage it.

Eukaryotic cells are larger and more complex than prokaryotic cells. In addition to a nucleus, these and most other eukaryotic cells contain an endomembrane system (ER, vesicles, and Golgi bodies), mitochondria, and a cytoskeleton, which is a dynamic “skeleton” of proteins. They perform specific cellular functions, for example, respiration and photosynthesis.
The meaning of eukaryote