Plant cell and Animal cell Overview

Numerous parallels and differences exist between the millions of cells that make up both plant cell and animal cell.

The reality that they will be both eukaryotic cells that have a true nucleus enclosed in and isolated from various organelles via a nuclear membrane, is a crucial distinction between their multiplication processes. When they undergo mitosis and meiosis, they use their DNA, which is contained in the cell nucleus, in analogous ways.

What are plant cells and animal cells?

They share a number of cell organelles, which are membrane-bound and carry out the same, if not identical, procedures to maintain and regulate the proper operation of the cells. Among these organelles are the nucleus, Golgi bodies, endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes, mitochondria, cytoskeleton, peroxisomes, and cell membrane.

Additionally, cells undergo cellular respiration, which carries out energy-producing activities necessary for cell growth and maintenance.

Despite all of these commonalities, they also have a number of distinctions.

Because both plant and animal cells are eukaryotic, they possess numerous structural similarities. Only a few membrane-bound organelles, including the nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, as well as peroxisomes, are present in both. Both also include identical cytosol, membranes, and cytoskeletal components. When comparing the two types of cells, the roles of these organelles are relatively comparable (peroxisomes undertake additional complicated activities related to cellular respiration in plant cells). However, the minute differences among plants and animals are immensely significant and illustrate the many functions of each cell.

Animal and plant cells may differ in size. Animal cells typically vary in size from 10 to 30 micrometres, whereas plant cells typically range from 10 to 100 micrometres. Beyond size, a few more features present in plant cells are the primary structural distinctions between animal and plant cells. The cell wall, vacuoles, and chloroplasts are some of these structures.

Animal cell vs Plant cell (Table form)

Characteristic	Animal cell	Plant cell
Definition	Animal cells are also the basic functional unit of life for animals constituting all cell organelles that perform a variety of functions to support the animals’ metabolisms.	Plant cells are basic functional units of plants constituting all cell organelles performing a variety of functions that support the plants’ metabolisms.
Size and shape	Animal cells are generally smaller than plant cells with their cells ranging from 10-30um in length.	Plant cells are larger than animal cells with the cell size ranging from 10um-100um in length.
Size and shape	Animal cell shapes and sizes vary greatly from irregular shapes to round shapes, most defined by the function they perform.	Plant cells are similar in shape with most cells being rectangular or cube-shaped.
Cell wall	They lack the cell wall but possess a plasma (cell) membrane, which performs the function of support and protection of the cell from external damage.	They have both a cell wall that is made up of cell membrane and cellulose. The cell wall is, a rigid membrane matrix found on the surface of all plant cells whose primary role is to protect the cell and its content.
Cell wall	It also plays a major role in selective permeability allowing in and outflow of nutrient molecules, water, and other cell elements.
Plasma membrane	They have a plasma membrane that is a thin flexible membrane, which acts as a protective covering for the animal cell.	The presence of the plasma membrane made up of cellulose, just below the cell wall allows selective permeability of cell contents into and out of the cell cytoplasm.
Plasma membrane	It also has selective permeability.
Cytoplasm	It houses all the cell organelles.	It houses most of the cell organelles
Ribosomes	They are present and are used for protein synthesis and genetic coding of the protein, amino acid sequences.	They are present and are used for protein synthesis and cellular repair mechanisms.
Endoplasmic reticulum	They are present in two types: rough endoplasmic and smooth endoplasmic reticulum	They are present, in two types; rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum
Lysosomes	Animal cells have lysosomes, that contain digestive enzymes to break down cellular macromolecules.	Plant cells rarely contain lysosomes as the plant vacuole and the Golgi bodies handle molecule degradation of waste cellular products.
Vacuoles	Animal cells may have many small vacuoles, a lot smaller than the plant cell.	Plant cells have a large central vacuole that can occupy up to 90% of the cell’s volume.
Nucleus	Present and it lies at the center of the cell	Present and it lies on the side of the cell
Nucleolus	Present in the nucleus	Present in the nucleus
Centrioles	They are present with their major function involving the assistance of the cell division process.	They are absent in plant cells
Peroxisomes	They are present in the cytoplasm.	They are present in the cell cytoplasm functioning as cell oxidizers for cellular molecules, synthesis of lipids, and recycling carbon from phosphoglycolate during photorespiration.
Peroxisomes	They perform the oxidation mechanisms for specific biomolecules and they assist in the synthesis of plasmalogen lipids.
Microfilaments and microtubules	They are present functioning to give support to the cell cytoskeleton, transport materials across the cytoplasm into and out of the nucleus. They are also involved d in cytokinesis.	They are present, to give cytoskeletal support, transportation of molecules across the cytoplasm and the nucleus and they play a major role in cytokinesis.
Cytoskeletons	Present and its major functions include creating a network that organizes the cell components and maintains the cell shape.	They have a cytoskeleton that maintains the plant cell shape, supports the cell cytoplasm and maintains the cell’s structural organization.
Cytosol	Present and its where all the cell organelles are suspended	Present, it’s where most of the cell organelles are suspended.
Microvilli	They are present in the intestinal lining to increase the surface area for the absorption of food.	Absent in plant cells.
Granules	Present	Present
Cilia and Filaments	Present; they allow movement of cells or part of the cell, for example, swimming of the sperm to the ova.	Absent in plants
Plastids	Absent	Present; they give pigmentation color to the plants and also facilitate trapping of light energy used for photosynthesis.
Plasmodesmata	Absent	Present; they facilitate the communication and transport of materials across plant cells.
Golgi bodies	They have larger and fewer Golgi bodies with their major function being to process and package protein and lipid macromolecules as they are being synthesized.	They have smaller but more Golgi bodies with their major role being a modification, processing, sorting, and packaging proteins for cellular secretion.
Synthesis of cellular nutrients	They cannot synthesize amino acids, vitamins, and coenzymes.	They can synthesize amino acids, vitamins, and vitamins.
Cytokinesis	It takes place by constriction	It takes place in the cell plates
Osmosis in a hypotonic solution	They take in water molecules by osmosis and easily burst when placed in hypotonic solution because of the lack of a cell wall	They absorb water molecules by osmosis but they do not burst in a hypotonic solution due to the presence of a cell wall.

References and Sources

3% – https://www.bioexplorer.net/difference-between-plant-and-animal-cells.html/
2% – https://brainly.com/question/11566088
2% – https://answersdrive.com/what-is-the-difference-between-plant-and-animal-cells-7203906
2% – https://answersdrive.com/what-are-the-similarities-between-animal-and-plant-cells-7292357
1% – https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-plant-cell-373384
1% – https://www.thoughtco.com/vacuole-organelle-373617
1% – https://www.thoughtco.com/differences-between-mitosis-and-meiosis-373390
1% – https://www.thoughtco.com/animal-cells-vs-plant-cells-373375
1% – https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-pits-and-plasmodesmata/
1% – https://biologywise.com/plant-cell-structure-function
1% – https://biologydictionary.net/osmosis/
<1% – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcrqIxt8am8
<1% – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Th0bsASzmM
<1% – https://nrcca.cals.cornell.edu/soilFertilityCA/CA1/CA1_print.html
<1% – https://biologywise.com/smooth-endoplasmic-reticulum-function
<1% – https://biologywise.com/plant-cell-vs-animal-cell
<1% – https://biologywise.com/plant-cell-organelles
<1% – https://biodifferences.com/difference-between-plant-cell-and-animal-cell.html
<1% – https://answersdrive.com/what-is-the-difference-between-the-plasma-membrane-and-the-cell-membrane-1493230
<1% – http://www.biology4kids.com/files/cell_nucleus.html