Animal Cell vs Plant Cell
Plant and animal cells have several differences and similarities. For example, animal cells do not have a cell wall or chloroplasts but plant cells do. Animal cells are round and irregular in shape while plant cells have fixed, rectangular shapes.
Comparison chart
| Animal Cell | Plant Cell | |
|---|---|---|
| Cell wall: | Absent | Present (formed of cellulose) |
| Shape: | Round (irregular shape) | Rectangular (fixed shape) |
| Vacuole: | One or more small vacuoles (much smaller than plant cells). | One, large central vacuole taking up 90% of cell volume. |
| Centrioles: | Present in all animal cells | Only present in lower plant forms. |
| Chloroplast: | Animal cells don't have chloroplasts | Plant cells have chloroplasts because they make their own food |
| Cytoplasm: | Present | Present |
| Endoplasmic Reticulum (Smooth and Rough): | Present | Present |
| Ribosomes: | Present | Present |
| Mitochondria: | Present | Present |
| Plastids: | Absent | Present |
| Golgi Apparatus: | Present | Present |
| Plasma Membrane: | only cell membrane | cell wall and a cell membrane |
| Microtubules/ Microfilaments: | Present | Present |
| Flagella: | May be found in some cells | May be found in some cells |
| Lysosomes: | Lysosomes occur in cytoplasm. | Lysosomes usually not evident. |
| Nucleus: | Present | Present |
| Cilia: | Present | It is very rare |
Contents |
Chloroplasts
Plant cells have chloroplast for photosynthesis whereas animal cells do not have chloroplasts.
Shape
- Another difference between plant cells and animal cells is that animal cells are round whereas plant cells are rectangular.
- Further, all animal cells have centrioles whereas only some lower plant forms have centrioles in their cells.
Vacuoles
Shape and size of vacuoles
Animal cells have one or more small vacuoles whereas plant cells have one large central vacuole that can take up to 90% of cell volume.
Difference in function of vacuoles
In plant cells, the function of vacuoles is to store water and maintain turgidity of the cell. Vacuoles in animal cells store water, ions and waste.
Pictures of plant and animal cells
Video comparing plant and animal cells
This video summarizes the differences between animal and plant cells:
Further Reading
There are some great books available on Amazon.com for further reading:
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