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Article: Bacterial Cell
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- Biology
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Bacterial Cell
Hundreds of thousands of bacterial species exist on Earth. They can be found in very diverse environments ranging from cold to hot and
alkaline
to acid. They live in soil, in water, and on rocks. They exist deep in the earth, high on mountains, and in deep-sea vents. They grow on and in other bacteria, worms, insects, plants, animals, and people.
Bacteria are
prokaryotes
. Prokaryotic cells possess simpler structures than
eukaryotic cells
, since they do not have a
nucleus
, other membrane bound
organelles
, or a
cytoskeleton
. Bacterial cells have two major compartments, the
cytoplasm
and cell envelope, and may also have exterior
appendages
, such as flagella ...