What are the differences between a prokaryote and eukaryote?

Prokarya - The simple, single celled organisms that lack organelles. They have circular DNA not linear chromosomes. Their DNA does coil up but is not in a membrane bound nucleus.


Eukarya ? the Symbiotic cells have organelles that have descended from endosymbiotic origins. The prokaryotic archaebacterial and eubacterial cells merged to become the first nucleated cell. Their DNA is in linear chromosome isolated to the cell nucleus.
This endosymbiotic process continued to occur and the organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplast provide evidence that this process was repeated.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/926u7878j0760656/
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/E/Endosymbiosis.html
http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100/2k2endosymb.html
http://www.morris.umn.edu/~goochv/CellBio/lectures/endo/endo.html

Tabular list of differences between Prokarya (Archaea & Bacteria) and Eukarya
http://www.earthlife.net/prokaryotes/welcome.html