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Nucleus

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

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Synonyms

Core/heart of the cell; Pronucleus; Storage site of nuclear material

Definition

Nucleus is one of the most dynamic membrane-bound organelle present in the cell. During the course of evolution, packaging of nuclear material in a separate membrane inside a cell was a turning point that distinguished eukaryotic from prokaryotic organisms. It is the most important structure of the cell as it contains the blueprint of life, DNA, responsible for storage and transmission of hereditary characters.

Introduction

The term “nucleus” is derived from Latin word nucleus or nuculeus, meaning kernel or seed. Nucleus is equivalent to the eye of cell which contains the DNA. It is one of the most important, prominent, and first ever discovered organelle that encompasses the genetic material of the cell in eukaryotic organisms. Prokaryotic cells do not have a nucleus; their genetic material is loosely bound to their outer membrane and is called nucleoid. The DNA is contained within the walls of...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Embryotoxicology Laboratory, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Divya Vimal

Authors
  1. Divya Vimal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Divya Vimal .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    Akash Gautam

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Vimal, D. (2018). Nucleus. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_178-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_178-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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