Cells can be defined as the basic building blocks of multicellular organisms.
Each cell contains one centrosome, two centrioles, the daughter and the mother centriole. Both centrosomes and centrioles play a crucial role in cell division.
Key Takeaways
- A centrosome is a structure in eukaryotic cells that serves as a microtubule organizing centre; a centriole is a cylindrical, microtubule-based structure within the centrosome.
- Centrosomes are located near the nucleus and play a critical role in cell division; centrioles help to organize microtubules during cell division and cilia/flagella formation.
- Centrosomes contain two centrioles arranged perpendicular to each other, along with other proteins and microtubule-related structures; centrioles consist of microtubules arranged in a 9+0 pattern.
Centrosome vs Centriole
Centrosome is an organelle found inside the cytoplasm of animal cells near the nucleus. Centrioles are two microtubule structures resembling barrel structures. Two mother and daughter centrioles get arranged in an orthographic manner to form a centrosome. Centrioles are involved in the mitotic division of the cell.
The centrosome is a cell organelle located inside the cytoplasm near the nucleus. It is present only in animal cells and not in plant cells.
It is also known as the microtubule-organizing center ( MTOC) because it takes the help of proteins that forms microtubules. Which further forms the spindle thread.
Centrosome helps in cell division by providing the direction for the chromosome’s movement while the process of cell division occurs.
The centriole is a cell organelle in a pair inside the centrosome. These are cylindrical and are extremely small. It helps in the formation of spindle threads, which further helps in the process of duplication of chromosomes.
Which then leads to cell division. It is present only in animal cells, not plant cells, since they do not have centrosomes.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Centrosome | Centriole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | These are the cell organelles responsible for movement of chromosomes. | These are the cell organelles responsible for the formation of the mitotic spindle, which helps in the process of chromosome duplication. |
| Number | Each cell consists of only one centrosome. | Each centrosome is made up of two centrioles. |
| Structural difference | Have a simple structure but a complex function. | Have a complex structure. |
| Size | Almost double the size of a centriole. | Approximately 250 nm in size. |
| Location | It is found in the cytoplasm near the nucleus. | It is located inside the centrosomes but near the nucleus or the cell membrane. |
What is Centrosome?
A centrosome is a cell organelle that helps in the cell division process. It is located in the cytoplasm, somewhere near the nucleus. Van Beneden first discovered it in 1876.
Centrosome plays a very crucial role in cell division. Before the division of the cell starts, the centrosome duplicates, so now there are two centrosomes.
When the cell division starts, the two centrosomes start moving toward the opposite sides of the cell.
The centrosome gets help from a protein that helps form additional microtubules. Further, these microtubules assemble into a spindle between the two duplicated centrosomes.
Which then further divides to form a daughter cell. And for this reason, the centrosome is also called the microtubule-organizing center (MTOC).
Fundamentally centrosome controls the spindle assembly that helps in the movement direction of chromosomes.
It also helps maintain the number of chromosomes during cell division and change the shape of the cell membrane during the division of cells. Centrosomes are only present in animal cells and not in plant cells.
What is Centriole?
The centriole is the cell organelles inside a chromosome next to the nucleus. Inside a centrosome, there are in total of two centrioles. These are made of microtubules. Centrioles are cylindrical and have a tiny size of approx 250 nm.
Centrioles play a very crucial role in cell division. When the cells undergo division, these centrioles move toward the opposite side of the nucleus.
When the chromosomes are supposed to undergo mitosis, these centrioles create the area from where the mitotic spindle form.
Then, these mitotic spindle gets attached to each chromosome, pulling them toward the opposite ends of the cell, leading to chromosome division.
In brief, centrioles are responsible for forming the mitotic spindle, and the mitotic spindle is responsible for chromosome division, leading to cell division.
Centrioles are only present in animal cells and not in plant cells due to the absence of centrosomes in them.
Main Differences Between Centrosome and Centriole
- Centrosomes are the cell organelles responsible for the movement of chromosomes, whereas centrioles are responsible for forming the mitotic spindle, which further helps cell division.
- Each cell has only one centrosome, whereas each has two centrioles.
- Centrosomes have a simple structure but perform complex tasks. In contrast, centrioles have a complex structure.
- The centriole size is approximately 250 nm, while centrosomes are almost double the centriole size.
- Centrosomes are found near the nucleus, whereas centrioles can be found near the nucleus or the cell membrane.
- https://www.nature.com/articles/ncb2345?page=8
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jeb.12620
Last Updated : 11 June, 2023
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
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