Plant Cell vs Animal Cell: Difference and Comparison

The whole world has an ecosystem where plants play the role of producers and animals play the role of Consumers. Hence their activities and differences along with cell structure.

Well, before that, one should know that a cell is a fundamental unit, and all cells carry all the activities.

The structure of a cell is classified based on the functions they perform. A primary difference between plant cells and animal cells is cell composition.

Hence all the functions and structures differ. Every cell has organelles that perform specific functions. Various organelles are present in both animal and plant cells, whereas some are present in either.

The most important difference between plant and animal cells is that animal cells do not have a cell wall, whereas plant cells do have a cell wall.

Key Takeaways

1. Plant cells have a rigid cell wall made of cellulose, providing structural support, while animal cells lack this feature.
2. Chloroplasts, responsible for photosynthesis, are present in plant cells but absent in animal cells.
3. Plant cells often have a large central vacuole for storing water and nutrients, whereas animal cells have smaller, temporary vacuoles.

Plant Cell vs Animal Cell

The difference between Plant Cells and Animal cells is their shapes. The plant cell has a rectangle or four squares in its form. Conversely, an animal cell is oblong or uncertain. Plant cells do have cell walls, but animal cells do not. The former does not contain centrosomes. On the opposite, the latter does. Cells of animals have more mitochondria, whereas plants’ cells have fewer.

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Comparison Table

Parameter of Comparison	Animal Cell	Plant Cell
Cell Shape	Irregular or round shape	Square of rectangular shape
Cell	It is absent	It is present
Centrosomes	Present	Absent
Plastids	Absent	present
Mode of Nutrition	It is Heterotrophic. Hence it depends on plants for food	It is autotrophic hence it prepares food on its own.

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What is Plant Cell?

Plant cells are eukaryotic cells composed of a nucleus and well-structured organelle that perform specific functions. Plant cells do have cell membranes and cell walls, unlike animal cells.

Plant Cell Shape: the shape of the plant cell is comparatively larger than the animal cell and rectangular shape. Plant and animal cells share common cell organelles; hence, plant cells are distinctive compared to their functions.

Just like animal cells, plant cell structure has various components known as cell organelles performing specific functions.

Some of the cell organelles in Plant Cells are:

1. Cell Wall
2. Cell Membrane
3. Nucleus
4. Plastids
5. Chloroplast
6. CHromoPlast
7. Central Vacuole
8. Golgi Apparatus
9. RIbosomes
10. Mitochondria
11. Lysosomes

Different types of plant cells.

Plant Cells are matured, and they are specialized in performing specific functions. Several plant cells are involved in transporting water and nutrients, whereas some store food.

Different specialized plant cells are Xylem Cells, Phloem Cells, Collenchyma cells, Sclerenchyma cells, and parenchyma cells.

Functions of plant cells.

Plant cells are known as the building blocks of different plants. One of the primary functions performed by a plant cell is photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis occurs in plant cells in the chloroplast. It is a process by which plants prepare their food by using components like carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight. The product of this process is Energy in the form of ATP.

 

What is Animal Cell?

An animal is a eukaryotic cell that does not have any cell wall, but it has a membrane-bounded nucleus and various cell organelles. The Size of an animal cell is a few millimetres to microns.

The giant animal Cell is the present ostrich egg, weighing about 1.4 KG and measuring 5.1 inches in length. Animal cells vary in shape; some cells are rod-speed, oval and flat.

Also, many unique shapes like rectangular, concave and spherical shapes exist. Since animal cells are microscopic, hence it is seen only under a microscope.

Animal cells are eukaryotic and do have nuclei bound with members. All animals exhibit DNA present in the nucleus. Animal cells do have various organelles, and every organelle carries out a specific function.

Animal Cells are smaller in size than plant cells and have irregular shapes. The reason behind the irregular shape is the absence of a cell wall. Various cell organelles in Animal cells are as follows.

1. Cell Membrane
2. Nuclear Membrane
3. Nucleus
4. Centrosome
5. Lysosome
6. Cytoplasm
7. Golgi Apparatus
8. Mitochondrion
9. Ribosome
10. Endoplasmic Reticulum(ER)
11. Vacuole
12. NucleoPore.

There are several animal cells, and each one of them performs a specific function.

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Main Differences Between Plant Cell and Animal Cell

1. A significant difference between plant and animal cells is that animal cells are round, whereas plant cells have a rectangular shape. Animal cells do not have a cell wall, whereas plant cells do have rigid cell walls.
2. Since all plants are autotrophs, they produce their food through photosynthesis. Unique cell organelles carry out this process called chloroplast, which is only present in plant cells. Animal cell food is produced by cellular respiration. In Animals, mitochondria is a cell organelle where cellular respiration takes place.
3. Only specific plant cells, such as ginkgo, cycads, seedless vascular, bryophytes, and charophytes, have centrioles, whereas all animal cells have centrioles.
4. In animal cells, you will find more than values of small size, whereas plant cells have a vast cell vacuole, which takes up almost 90% of the volume. Vacuoles maintain cell turgidity and store water, whereas animal cells store waste, ions, and water.
5. Well, another cell organelle called Lysosomes is present in animal cells, but its presence in the plant cell is doubtful.

References

1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11191-006-9029-7
2. https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt1027
3. https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19900739666