differentiate between plant cell &animal cell
Plant Cell Vs Animal Cell
A comparative study of plant cell vs animal cell is done by first providing diagrams of a plant cell and an animal cell followed by a table that lists the differences between the two.
Differences between plant and animal cells are summarized in the following table.
Characteristics | Plant Cell | Animal Cell |
Cell Size | Large | Smaller than plant cells |
Cell Shape | Rectangular | Circular |
Vacuoles | A single centrally located vacuole. It takes up almost 90% of the cell volume. The vacuole stores water and maintains turgidity of the cell. | If any, there are a number of small vacuoles spread throughout the cytoplasm that store water, ions and waste materials. |
Cell Wall | A rigid cell wall (made of cellulose) is present around a plant cell that helps it maintain its shape. | Cell wall is absent. This allows animal cells to adopt different shapes. |
Chloroplasts | Present. Chlorophyll is the pigment that traps sun's energy which is utilized by plants to make food through the process of photosynthesis. This pigment is present in the chloroplasts. | Absent. As animals lack this pigment, they cannot make their own food. |
Cell Division | Cell division takes place by the formation of cell plate in the center of the dividing cell. This becomes the cell wall between the two daughter cells. | Animal cells divide with the formation of a cleavage furrow. This is formed as the chromosomes move to the ends of the microtubule spindle formed by the centrioles. |
Centrioles | Present only in lower forms. Plants instead have microtubule organizing centers (MTOC) that produce the microtubules. | Present. Centrioles help in division of animal cells by creating microtubule spindles that pull the chromosomes to opposite ends for cell division to occur. |
Centrosome | Absent. Instead two small clear areas called polar caps are present. | Present |
Lysosomes | Absent | Present. Lysosomes are vesicles that contain enzymes that destroy dead cell organelles and other cells debis. |
Golgi Bodies | In place of golgi bodies, its sub units known as dictyosomes are present. | Complex golgi bodies are present close to the nucleus. |
Other than the aforementioned differences between plant and animal cells, other organelles like nucleus, nucleolus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes are present in both plant and animal cells.