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A Eukaryotic cell is a normal cell, in the classic sense, it is one containing a cell membrane and a membrane bound nucleus within which the DNA is found, it is the type of cell found in all animals, and most plants. Prokaryotic cells lack a membrane bound nucleus and are found in many bacteria and some algae. DNA wether in animals or plants is the same compound, what varies is the sequence of nucleic acids, which code for the proteins necessary to construct the cell. One can think of the nucleic acids as a four letter alphabet, all the words in the language have 3 letters. Each 3 letter sequence is either a command, start or stop reading here, or means use this amino acid. So one can think of the DNA as a set of instructions. To use it the DNA is copied onto messengerRNA, the messengerRNA is matched to transport RNA which has the 3 letter word at one end and the corresponding amino acid at the other end, thus a series of amino acids are lined up in the correct order, and with a minor bonding reaction one has an amino acid chain which is known as a protein. Coming full circle specific proteins are needed to copy the DNA to RNA and to create the transport RNA. So neither exists unless the whole system exists.

Most viruses also contain DNA but some have only RNA, which when it enters a living cell is converted to DNA that then starts replicating the virus.

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12y ago

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