Question

A student wonders whether removing the nucleus from a cell would result in a new prokaryotic cell. Why would this procedure fail to produce a prokaryotic cell?
The cell would lack genetic information.
The cell would lack the structure that is needed to produce energy.
The cell would lack the structure that is needed to protect the cell’s organelles.
The cell would lack control over materials that move into and out of the cell.

Answer 1

The correct choice is: The cell would lack genetic information.

Removing the nucleus removes the cell’s chromosomal DNA (the genes needed for regulation, growth and replication). A prokaryote is not simply a cell without a nucleus — it still contains genetic information (in a nucleoid), and it lacks membrane‑bound organelles. Simply removing the nucleus would leave a eukaryotic cytoplasm with organelles but no full complement of nuclear DNA, so you would not produce a functional prokaryotic cell.