The main difference between an animal cell and a plant: a table + a detailed description

Many key differences between plants and animals 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 this article), let's find out what they have in common and then explore what makes them different.

Animals and plants

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.

Now think about the plants. 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.

general characteristics

The plant and animal cells are eukaryotic, and this is already 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.

Features of plant cells

Now let's look at the features of plant cells. How can most of them stand upright? This ability is due to the cell wall that surrounds the envelopes 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 a few 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 are not able to move from place to place, so they need to make their own food. The organelle, called chloroplast, is responsible for photosynthesis. Vegetative cells can contain several such organelles, sometimes hundreds.

Chloroplasts are surrounded by a double membrane and contain stacks 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.

Differences in the animal cell from plant (Table 1)

Plant and animal structural units have some 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:

Animals against plants

What makes it possible to make the table "The difference between an animal cell and a plant" conclusion? Both are eukaryotic. They have real nuclei, where DNA is located and separated from other structures by a nuclear membrane. Both types have similar processes for reproduction, including mitosis and meiosis. Animals and plants need energy, they must grow and maintain a normal cellular function in the process of breathing.

Both there and there are structures known as organelles that are specialized to perform the functions necessary for normal functioning. The presented differences of the animal cell from the plant in Table 1 are supplemented by some common features. It turns out that they have much in common. And they both have some of the same components, including nuclei, the Golgi complex, the endoplasmic reticulum, the ribosomes, the mitochondria, and so on.

What is the difference between a plant cell and an animal?

In Table 1, similarities and differences are presented rather succinctly. Consider these and other points in more detail.

• The size. Animal cells usually have smaller dimensions than plant cells. The first form 10 to 30 micrometers in length, while the plant cells have a length range of 10 to 100 micrometers.
• The form. Animal cells are of various sizes and, as a rule, have a round or irregular shape. Vegetables are more similar in size and, as a rule, have a rectangular or cubic shape.
• Storage of energy. Animal cells store energy in the form of complex carbohydrates (glycogen). Vegetables store energy in the form of starch.
• Differentiation. In animal cells, only stem cells are capable of passing into other types of cells. Most types of plant cells are not capable of differentiation.
• Growth. Animal cells increase in size due to the number of cells. Vegetables absorb more water in the central vacuole.
• Centrioles. Animal cells contain cylindrical structures that organize the assembly of microtubules during cell division. Vegetable, as a rule, do not contain centrioles.
• Cilia. They are found in animal cells, but are not a common occurrence in plant cells.
• Lysosomes. These organelles contain enzymes that digest macromolecules. Plant cells rarely contain lysosomes, this function is performed by the vacuole.
• Plastids. Animal cells do not have plastids. Plant cells contain plastids, such as chloroplasts, which are necessary for photosynthesis.
• Vacuol. Animal cells can have many small vacuoles. Plant cells have a large central vacuole, which can occupy up to 90% of the cell volume.

Structurally, plant and animal cells are very similar; 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 cell (Table 1) that exists between them is very significant and reflects the difference in the functions of each cell.

So, we compared the 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 in the way they eat.