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prokaryote
(pro-kar´e-ōt)
any member of the kingdom Monera; a unicellular organism lacking a true nucleus and nuclear membrane, having genetic material composed of a single loop of
naked double-stranded DNA. The microorganisms, comprising the bacteria and blue-green bacteria (formerly blue-green algae),
are predominantly unicellular but may have filamentous, mycelial, or colonial forms. Prokaryotes, with the exception of genus
Mycoplasma, have a rigid cell wall. adj., prokaryot´ic., adj.

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