Than animals differ from plants: the main signs

Despite the fact that it was possible to identify global kingdoms of plants and animals for biologists centuries ago, it is still quite difficult to draw a clear line between them. Nevertheless, the first attempts to derive the basic qualities of the plant and animal organism were undertaken by Karl Linnaeus. Today, the experience accumulated by researchers around the world made it possible to formulate the main theses explaining how animals differ from plants.

Cytological level

How do animals differ from plants in the first place? Arguing about the structure of plant and animal cells, it is worth noting that they have a similar structure and functions. Each living cell contains a nucleus that carries hereditary information, as well as the coordinating life-support processes of the cell; A membrane that confines the cellular space and performs protective functions; Cytoplasm, filling the space between them and responsible for transport of the necessary substances. However, there are significant differences between plant and animal cells. The cytoplasm of the plant cell contains plastids that include chlorophyll, a substance that imparts color to the green parts of plants and participates in photosynthetic processes. The plant cell is also distinguished by the presence of a rigid cell wall, which allows it to retain its shape and demonstrate resistance to deformations. In turn, the animal cell has centrioles that are in the cytoplasm and play an important role in the process of mitosis.

Activity of living organisms

Another difference between animals and plants is the activity exhibited by organisms. The activity of animal organisms in search of food, adaptation to the environment remains unchanged high throughout their entire life, only slightly decreasing and reaching a peak in certain periods. The activity of plants is much lower. The motor activity of a plant includes only forced tropisms, carried out under the influence of external factors (sunlight, attraction of the earth, etc.).

Methods of feeding organisms

The essential difference between plants and animals also affects their dietary habits. Being autotrophic organisms, plants are able to independently produce organic substances from inorganic ones. Animals are heterotrophic organisms, the distinctive feature of which is the ability to absorb ready-made organic substances and the inability to become a producer of organic substances from inorganic substances.

Kinds of growth of organisms

Considering what animals differ from plants, one can also not touch upon the problem of the growth of organisms. The growth of the plant is continuous and relatively uniform throughout the entire period of its life. The growth of the animal organism is carried out exclusively within certain periods and it occurs extremely unevenly, reaching a peak value and practically dying out at one time or another. Nevertheless, even when we consider how animals differ from plants, we can not draw the maximum clear line between these categories.