Final answer:
Bacterial genomes contain less DNA and fewer genes compared to eukaryotic genomes, which have much larger and more complex genomes with multiple linear chromosomes and significantly higher numbers of genes.
Step-by-step explanation:
When comparing bacterial and eukaryotic genomes, the bacterial genome is generally smaller and, therefore, contains less DNA and fewer genes. This difference in genome size and complexity is because eukaryotic genomes are much more complex and larger in size than prokaryotic genomes. For example, the human genome has three billion base pairs per haploid set of chromosomes, and 6 billion base pairs are replicated during the S phase of the cell cycle. In contrast, some bacterial genomes may be as small as only 112,000 base pairs.
Eukaryotes have multiple linear chromosomes, with the human genome having up to 100,000 origins of replication, while prokaryotes typically have a single circular chromosome with supercoiling managed by DNA gyrase. This fundamental difference in structure and quantity of DNA also translates to a difference in the number of genes present in each type of organism.