Eukaryotes

Eukaryotes can be unicellular or multicellular, and their cell sizes are significantly (hundreds of times) larger than prokaryotes. They have biomembranes enclosing their nucleus and organelles such as the endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, ribosome, vacuole and lysosome, as well as endosymbiont-derived organelles (which are bound by two or more layers of membrane) such as mitochondria and various plastids. Eukaryotes can reproduce both asexually through mitosis, and sexually through meiosis and gamete fusion (fertilization). Due to their larger size and more complex cellular architecture, eukaryotes are capable of morphogenesis and phagocytosis, which enables microscopicpredation of other unicellular organisms. Multicellularity in some eukaryotes led to cell differentiation and functional specialization, which led to the formation of various organs and tissues and the development of organ systems. Eukaryotes represent only a small minority of the total number of organisms on Earth, but due to their generally much larger sizes, their collective global biomass is much greater than that of prokaryotes.