A cell is the simplest structural element of any organism, characteristic of both the animal and plant worlds. What does it consist of? We will consider the similarities and differences between plant and animal cells below.
Plant cell
Everything we haven't seen or known before is always of great interest. How often did you examine cells under a microscope? Probably not everyone has seen him. The photo shows a plant cell. Its main parts are very clearly visible. So, a plant cell consists of a shell, pores, membranes, cytoplasm, vacuole, nuclear membrane, nucleus, nucleolus and plastids.
As you can see, the structure is not so tricky. Let us immediately pay attention to the similarities of the plant and animal cells regarding the structure. Here we note the presence of a vacuole. In plant cells, it is one, and in the animal there are many small ones that perform the function of intracellular digestion. We also note that there is a fundamental similarity in structure: shell, cytoplasm, nucleus. They also do not differ in the structure of membranes.
Animal cage
In the last paragraph, we noted the similaritiesplant and animal cells regarding the structure, but they are not absolutely identical, they have differences. For example, an animal cell does not have a cell wall. We also note the presence of organelles: mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, ribosomes, cell center. A mandatory element is the nucleus, which controls all cell functions, including reproduction. We also noted this when considering the similarities between the plant and animal cells.
Cell similarities
Despite the fact that cells differ from each other in many ways, we will mention the main similarities. Now it is impossible to say exactly when and how life appeared on earth. But now many kingdoms of living organisms coexist peacefully. Despite the fact that everyone leads a different lifestyle, has a different structure, there are undoubtedly many similarities. This suggests that all life on earth has one common ancestor. Here are the main signs of similarity:
- cell structure;
- similarity of metabolic processes;
- coding information;
- same chemical composition;
- identical division process.
As you can see from the above list, the similarities between plant and animal cells are numerous, despite such a variety of life forms.
Cell differences. Table
Despite many similarities, animal and plant cells have many differences. For clarity, here is a table:
| Signs | Plant cell | Animal cage |
| Cellulose cell wall | + | - |
| Plastids | + | - |
| Basic carbohydrate storage | starch | glycogen |
| Cell center | - | + |
| Vacuole | One | Many |
| ATP synthesis | Chloroplasts, mitochondria | Mitochondria |
| Eating method | Autotrophic | Heterotrophic |
The main difference lies in the way of eating. As can be seen from the table, the plant cell has an autotrophic mode of nutrition, and the animal cell has a heterotrophic mode. This is due to the fact that the plant cell contains chloroplasts, that is, plants themselves synthesize all the substances necessary for survival using light energy and photosynthesis. Under the heterotrophic method of nutrition is understood the ingestion of the necessary substances with food. These same substances are also the source of energy for the being.
Note that there are exceptions, for example, green flagellates, which are able to obtain the necessary substances in two ways. Since solar energy is necessary for the process of photosynthesis, they use the autotrophic method of nutrition during daylight hours. At night, they are forced to consume ready-made organic substances, that is, they feed in a heterotrophic way.
