In this video, we're going to be talking about prokaryotic genetic features. So this has to do with DNA storage, structure, and replication. So, how a prokaryotic cell stores its DNA and how it replicates it are distinguishing features of prokaryotic cells. So remember back I said, prokaryotic cells do not have a nucleus, but they do have a structure called a nucleoid, which is just where they keep their DNA. And it's actually a circular chromosome and that's where their DNA is packaged. And so DNA is not contained inside any kind of intracellular compartment, so no nucleus. And they don't have nuclear envelopes, they also don't have nuclei. "Nuclei" is the plural for that. And then, because they don't have these specialized compartments to hold their DNA, they actually don't have that much DNA. So they have about 8,000,000 base pairs for an average prokaryotic cell, amounting to around 5,000 proteins. Now if we think of this compared to a human cell, that's so small. Human cells contain upwards of 25,000 proteins, and that's only 2% of the genome. So a huge amount of genetic material in eukaryotes, but a small amount in prokaryotes. Now, that's how DNA is stored, and how it's structured. But how is it replicated? So prokaryotic cells undergo binary fission, and a complete copy of the DNA is passed on to the daughter cell. So genetic information can also be transferred through organisms through conjugation, which is a different process. Let me go down here and talk about this. So binary fission is where DNA replication occurs and you see you get 2 copies of the entire DNA and that split and then that goes into the daughter cells where each cell contains a single copy. So that's binary fission. Now that's, DNA replication. There's this thing called conjugation and that's just genetic sharing between organisms that's not dividing, that's actually just giving some genetic material between organisms. DNA and then eventually into a protein, so expressing that gene. DNA transcription and gene expression in prokaryotic cells is very simple. We're running into a theme here, where DNA is stored in this simple nucleoid. DNA in prokaryotic cells divide through binary fission in a simple process. DNA transcription is also simple. All happens in a single compartment. It really requires very little processing, and it does use ribosomes for translation, which if you remember back to your bio 101, sort of throwing these terms out here just to review. It uses ribosomes for translation, but they are smaller and less complex than the ones you're familiar with from your intro bio class for eukaryotic cells. So, for prokaryotic cells and their genetic storage, just think simple. It's more simple. So with that, let's move on to the next concept.