Many key differences between plants andanimals originate in structural differences at the cellular level. Some have some details that others have, and vice versa. Before we find the main difference between an animal cell and a plant cell (see the table later in the article), let's find out what they have in common, and then explore what makes them different.
Are you reading this article, hunched up in an armchair?Try to sit straight, stretch your arms to the sky and stretch. Feel good, right? Whether you like it or not, you are an animal. Your cells are soft clots of the cytoplasm, but you can use your muscles and bones to stand on your feet and move around. Gethorotrophs, like all animals, should be fed from other sources. If you feel hungry or thirsty, you just need to get up and go to the fridge.
Теперь подумайте о растениях.Imagine a tall oak tree or a tiny blade of grass. They stand in an upright position, without muscles or bones, but they can not afford to go anywhere to get food and drink. Plants, autotrophs, create their own products, using the energy of the Sun. The difference of the animal cell from the plant in Table 1 (see below) is obvious, but there is also much in common.
Plant and animal cells areeukaryotic, and this is a great similarity. They have a membrane-bound nucleus that contains genetic material (DNA). A semipermeable plasma membrane surrounds both types of cells. Their cytoplasm contains many of the same parts and organelles, including ribosomes, Golgi complexes, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and peroxisomes, and others. While plant and animal cells are eukaryotic and have much in common, they also differ in several parameters.
Now let's look at cell featuresplants. How can most of them stand upright? This ability is due to the cell wall that surrounds the shells of all plant cells, provides support and stiffness and often gives them a rectangular or even hexagonal appearance when viewed through a microscope. All these structural units have a rigid regular shape and contain many chloroplasts. The walls can be several micrometers thick. Their composition varies depending on the groups of plants, but they usually consist of fibers of carbohydrate cellulose immersed in a matrix of proteins and other carbohydrates.
Cell walls help maintain strength.The pressure created by the absorption of water, contributes to their rigidity and gives an opportunity for vertical growth. Plants can not move from place to place, so they need to make their own food. The organelle, called chloroplast, is responsible for photosynthesis. Plant cells can contain several such organelles, sometimes hundreds.
Chloroplasts are surrounded by a double membrane and containstacks of membrane-bound discs in which sunlight is absorbed by special pigments, and this energy is used to feed the plant. One of the most famous structures is a large central vacuole. This organelle occupies most of the volume and is surrounded by a membrane called tonoplast. It stores water, as well as potassium and chloride ions. As the cell grows, the vacuole absorbs water and helps to lengthen the cells.
Plant and animal structural units havesome differences and similarities. For example, the former do not have a cell wall and chloroplasts, they are round and irregular in shape, while plant cells have a fixed rectangular shape. Both are eukaryotic, so they have a number of common features, such as the presence of a membrane and organelles (nucleus, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum). So, let's look at the similarities and differences between the plant and animal cells in Table 1:
| Animal Cell | Plant cell | |
| Cell Wall | absent | present (formed from cellulose) |
| The form | round (wrong) | rectangular (motionless) |
| Vacuole | one or more small (much less than in plant cells) | One large central vacuole takes up to 90% of the cell volume |
| Centrioles | are present in all animal cells | are present in lower plant forms |
| Chloroplasts | no | Plant cells have chloroplasts because they create their own food |
| Cytoplasm | there is | there is |
| Ribosomes | are present | are present |
| Mitochondria | there are | there are |
| Plastids | absent | are present |
| Endoplasmic reticulum (smooth and rough) | there is | there is |
| Golgi apparatus | there is | there is |
| Plasma membrane | present | present |
| Flagella | can be found in some cells | can be found in some cells |
| Lysosomes | eat in cytoplasm | usually not visible |
| Kernels | are present | are present |
| Cilia | are present in large quantities | plant cells do not contain cilia |
Which allows you to make the table "The difference between animalscells from the plant? Both are eukaryotic. They have real nuclei where DNA is located and are separated from other structures by the nuclear membrane. Both types have similar reproduction processes, including mitosis and meiosis. Animals and plants need energy, they must grow and maintain normal cellular function during respiration.
And there and there are structures known asorganelles that are specialized to perform the functions necessary for normal functioning. The presented differences between the animal and plant cells in Table 1 are complemented by some common features. It turns out they have a lot in common. Both those and those have some of the same components, including the nucleus, the Golgi complex, the endoplasmic reticulum, the ribosomes, the mitochondria, and so on.
In the table number 1 similarities and differences are presented quite briefly. Consider these and other points in more detail.
Structurally plant and animal cells are verysimilar, they contain membrane-bound organelles, such as the nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, and peroxisomes. Both also contain similar membranes, cytosol and cytoskeletal elements. The functions of these organelles are also very similar. However, the slight difference between a plant cell and an animal (table No. 1) that exists between them is very significant and reflects the difference in the functions of each cell.
So, we made a comparison of plant and animal cells, finding out what their similarities and differences are. Common are the structure plan, chemical processes and composition, division and genetic code.
At the same time, these smallest units are fundamentally different way of feeding.
