Animal and plant cells are eukaryotes, that is, they belong to the most complex cell type and constitute the majority of living beings.
Remember, a eukaryotic cell is one that has an individualized nucleus, delimited by a cell membrane.
Despite this similarity, animal and plant cells show differences in structure, shape and cell components.
Main differences
Learn about the main differences between animal and plant cells:
1. structure and form
Animal and plant cells have a different shape. The animal cell has an irregular shape, while the plant cell has a fixed shape.
Animal cells may have cilia and flagella, which do not occur in plant cells.
We can see a large vacuole in the plant cell, which occupies a large part of its cytoplasm. This is due to the function of the cell to store sap and control the inflow and outflow of water.
Read more about:
- animal cell
- plant cell
2. cell wall
THE cell wall it is a unique structure of plant cells. It corresponds to an outer envelope to the plasma membrane, formed by the polysaccharide cellulose.
The function of the cell wall is to provide support, resistance and protection against external pathogens. In addition, it carries out the exchange of substances between neighboring cells and controls the entry of water into the cell.
Animal cells do not have a cell wall.
3. Organelles
At cell organelles they are structures that carry out essential functions for the functioning of cells. Animal and plant cells have some specific organelles, depending on the activity they perform.
See the organelles found in animal and plant cells:
| Organelle | plant cell | animal cell | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitochondria | Gift | Gift | Cellular respiration |
| Smooth endoplasmic reticulum | Gift | Gift | Lipid Synthesis |
| Rough endoplasmic reticulum | Gift | Gift | protein synthesis |
| Ribosomes | Gift | Gift | protein synthesis |
| Golgi apparatus | Gift | Gift | Modify, store and export proteins |
| Lysosomes | Gift | Gift | Digestion of Organic Molecules |
| peroxisomes | Gift | Gift | Substance digestion |
| vacuoles | Gift | Absent | Storage of substances |
| Plasts | Gift | Absent | Storage of substances and pigments |
| Glyoxisomes | Gift | Absent | Transformation of fatty acids into sugars |
| centrioles | Variable | Gift | Cell division. It only occurs in bryophyte and pteridophyte plant cells. |
It is important to note that plastids have three types: leukoplasts, chromoplasts and chloroplasts.
- Leukoplasts: No pigment and store starch as an energy reserve.
- Chromoplasts: Responsible for the color of fruits, flowers and leaves.
- Chloroplasts: Green color due to the chlorophyll, are responsible for photosynthesis.
Want to learn more about cells? Read too:
- Cytology
- Cell
- cell types
- eukaryotic cells
- prokaryotic cells
- Cell exercises