genophore

The genophore is circular in most prokaryotes, and linear in very few.

The circular nature of the genophore allows replication to occur without telomeres.

In prokaryotes and viruses, the term genophore is more appropriate when no chromatin is present.

A genophore is the DNA of a prokaryote.

The term "chromosome" is misleading for a genophore because the genophore lacks chromatin.

The genophore is compacted through a mechanism known as supercoiling, whereas a chromosome is additionally compacted via chromatin.

In bacteria, each cell usually contains a single circular genophore, while eukaryotic organisms (including plants and animals) have their DNA arranged in multiple linear chromosomes.

Chromatin is only found in eukaryotic cells: prokaryotic cells have a very different organization of their DNA which is referred to as a genophore (a chromosome without chromatin).