Plant Cell Vs Animal Cell - Difference And Comparison - Diffen

Cell Wall

A difference between plant cells and animal cells is that most animal cells are round whereas most plant cells are rectangular.Plant cells have a rigid cell wall that surrounds the cell membrane. Animal cells do not have a cell wall. When looking under a microscope, the cell wall is an easy way to distinguish plant cells.

An infographic showing some structural differences between plant and animal cells.

Chloroplasts

Plants are autotrophs; they produce energy from sunlight through the process of photosynthesis, for which they use cell organelles called chloroplasts. Animal cells do not have chloroplasts. In animal cells, energy is produced from food (glucose) via the process of cellular respiration. Cellular respiration occurs in mitochondria on animal cells, which are structurally somewhat analogous to chloroplasts, and also perform the function of producing energy. However, plant cells also contain mitochondria.

Centriole

All animal cells have centrioles whereas only some lower plant forms have centrioles in their cells (e.g. the male gametes of charophytes, bryophytes, seedless vascular plants, cycads, and ginkgo).

Vacuoles

Animal cells have one or more small vacuoles whereas plant cells have one large central vacuole that can take upto 90% of cell volume. 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.

Lysosomes

A lysosome is a membrane-bound spherical vesicle which contains hydrolytic enzymes that can break down many kinds of biomolecules. It is involved in cell processes,like secretion, plasma membrane repair, cell signaling, and energy metabolism. Animal cells have clearly defined lysosomes. The presence of lysosomes in plant cells in under debate. A few studies have reported presence of animal lysosomes in plant vacuoles therefore suggesting plant vacuoles fulfilling the role of the animal lysosomal system.

Pictures of plant and animal cells

Structure of a Plant Cell

Structure of a Typical Plant Cell

Animal Cell Structure

Structure of a Typical Animal Cell

Video Comparing Plant and Animal Cells

This video summarizes the differences between animal and plant cells:

For a more in-depth look at the differences between plant and animal cell organelles, see this video.

Types of plant cells

This is a picture of the various types of plant cells, including xylem, phloem, sclerenchyma and collenchyma.

References

• Wikipedia: Eukaryote#Animal cell
• Wikipedia: Plant cell