Lesson 5- Plant and Animal Cell

Objective

In the end of the lesson, you will be able to compare the structure of plant and animal cells.

Lesson Proper

Comparison of a Plant Cell and an Animal Cell

Both plant and animal cells contain nucleus along with similar organelles. One of the distinctive aspects of a
plant cell is the presence of a cell wall outside the cell membrane.

Take note that both cells are eukaryotic and both have several well defined membrane-bound organelles.
Take note further that in the numbered organelles, there are parts/organelles that are specific only to a particular type
of cell. Although the basic structure and most of the features are the same, there are some points of differences
between the two cells.

In terms of size and shape, plant cell is usually larger and has a somewhat fixed shape (polygonal),
whereas an animal cell is smaller and has various shapes. Biologists believe that the more fixed shape of plant cells
is due to the presence of the cell wall. The cell wall maintains the shape of the cell strengthens it and protects it from
mechanical injury and adverse environmental conditions. Animal cells do not have cell walls. The plasma membrane
serves as its outer boundary. The absence of the cell wall makes the animal cell softer, which is the reason why
animal cells can assume different shapes.
 Plants have an added covering called the cell wall. It provides support, protection, and shape to the cell.
The cell containing cellulose.

Plastids are organelles that contain pigments and store food materials. The pigments give the leaves of the
plants their characteristic colors. The most popular among them are the chloroplasts which contain the chlorophyll
pigments. These pigments give many plants their characteristic green color. Chlorophyll pigments are also light-
trapping. During photosynthesis, carbon dioxide and water with the help of light energy are chemically changed into
food. The photosynthetic ability of plants is the reason why they are called photosynthetic autotrophs.

Chloroplasts is an elongated organelle enclosed by phospholipid membrane. The chloroplast is shaped like
a disc. Each chloroplast contains a green colored pigment called chlorophyll required for the process of
photosynthesis. The chlorophyll absorbs light energy from the sun and uses it to transform carbon dioxide and water
into glucose.

Centrioles are organelles that become prominent only during cell division. Only animal cells have centrioles
during cell division, centrioles help move chromosomes toward their respective poles. Plant cells do not need
centrioles. Their more fixed shape can safely and correctly position the chromosomes in their supposed to be places.
In unicellular organisms such as the paramecium and euglena, the centrioles control the formation of locomotor
structures respectively called cilia and flagella. These structures allow them to move. For instance, the flagellum
enables the sperm cell to swim. Vacuoles are membrane-bound and fluid filled organelles that function as a storage
tank for food, water, waste products, and other materials.

Vacuoles can be found both in plant and animal cells. However, in plant cells, the vacuoles are large and
built-in, and they almost fill the entire volume of the plant cell. When they are filled with water, they exert internal
pressure (called turgor pressure) against the cell wall. This pressure presses the cell wall tightly against the plasma
membrane that causes the characteristic rigidity of plant cells. Also, in plant cells, the vacuoles usually store useful
materials (starch grains, essential oils, water, etc.), water-soluble pigments as well as crystals of various geometric
designs that are composed of molecules that can be potentially toxic to herbivores. Conversely, in animal cells, the
vacuoles are small, scattered within the cytoplasm and are temporary structures. The vacuoles are formed near the
plasma membrane. Take note that vacuoles form near the part of the plasma membrane where an in pocketing is
formed. This in pocketing is called pinocytotic vesicle. Materials sometimes "forcibly" enter the cell's interior via this in
pocketing in the plasma membrane. The materials that enter the animal cell are sometimes complex that the cell
cannot use them unless the lysosomes simplify these materials.

Plant Cell Animal Cell

Cell wall present No cell wall
Plastids present No plastids
No centriole Centriole present
Few large vacuoles Many small vacuoles

Both have a cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes, ribosomes, and
golgi apparatus.