Akaryocytes, also known as akaryotes or acaryotes, are cells without a

nucleus Nucleus (: nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucleu ...

. The name is derived from the Greek prefix "a-", meaning "without" and the Greek "karyo-", meaning "nut" or "kernel".

Types

Akaryotes come in many different forms. Overall, there are four main types of akaryocytes discovered:

Erythrocytes Red blood cells (RBCs), referred to as erythrocytes (, with -''cyte'' translated as 'cell' in modern usage) in academia and medical publishing, also known as red cells, erythroid cells, and rarely haematids, are the most common type of blood cel ...

, commonly known as red blood cells, are concave-shaped cells responsible for gas exchange, and the transfer of nutrients throughout an organism. Red blood cells are classified as akaryocytes because they lack a cell nucleus after they have fully developed. The most common types of akaryocytes are

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

, and

archaea Archaea ( ) is a Domain (biology), domain of organisms. Traditionally, Archaea only included its Prokaryote, prokaryotic members, but this has since been found to be paraphyletic, as eukaryotes are known to have evolved from archaea. Even thou ...

. Bacteria and archaea are unicellular organisms that lack organelles–specifically, a nucleus. They lack nuclei but contain other organelles that assist with the replication processes. Viruses are sometimes considered akaryocytes but the suffix "cyte" means cells. Akaryote is also used as a synonym for akaryocyte however 'ote" implies a taxonomic relationship that does not exist among akaryocytes.

Contribution

Akaryotes play a special role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Bacteria and archaea, specifically, have contributed to the stability of ecological sciences. A crucial process both bacteria and archaea are involved in is nitrification–the oxidation of ammonia, which contributes to healthier agricultural ecosystems, thus, areas containing mainly soil."Prokaryotes: Bacteria & Archaea". ''Organismal Biology''.

References

Cells {{Cell-biology-stub