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Difference Between Animal and Plant Cells

Plant and animal cells are both eukaryotic but have major structural differences. Plant cells have rigid cell walls that give them shape and support, while animal cells can change shape. Plant cells contain chloroplasts for photosynthesis and vacuoles, while animal cells rely on gap junctions to communicate. Plant cells also have parenchyma, collenchyma, and sclerenchyma cell types that perform different functions.

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Norsham Binti Khair
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23 views

Difference Between Animal and Plant Cells

Plant and animal cells are both eukaryotic but have major structural differences. Plant cells have rigid cell walls that give them shape and support, while animal cells can change shape. Plant cells contain chloroplasts for photosynthesis and vacuoles, while animal cells rely on gap junctions to communicate. Plant cells also have parenchyma, collenchyma, and sclerenchyma cell types that perform different functions.

Uploaded by

Norsham Binti Khair
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Difference Between Animal and Plant cells

Both plant and animal cells are eukaryotic cells, i.e., they have complex structures but the
structures of both types of cells have major differences.

Animal cells do not have rigid cell walls like plant cells. This allows animal cells to form and
adopt various shapes. A type of animal cell called the phagocytic cell can even absorb other
structures. This ability is not inherent in plant cells.

Further, unlike animal cells, plant cells have chloroplasts for the utilization of sunlight and
this is what also gives plant cells their green color. It is with the help of chloroplasts that
contain chlorophyll, the plant cells perform the function of photosynthesis which is a process
absent in animal cells.

Plant cells also contain a larger central vacuole (enclosed by a membrane) as compared to
animal cells. Also, while animal cells depend on an analogous system of gap-junctions that
allows communication between cells, the plant cells use linking pores in their cell wall to
connect to each other and pass information.

Many types of plant cells, particularly in species like conifers and flowering plants, there is an
absence of flagellae and centrioles that are found in animal cells.

Plant cells are also classified into three types. The parenchyma cells help in storage,
photosynthesis-support and other functions and collenchyma cells are only present during the
time of maturity and have only a primary wall. The sclerenchyma cells help in mechanical
support. When it comes to animal cells, there are 210 distinct types of these in the human
body.

There is another major difference between plant and animal cells. While the former turn
carbon dioxide into sugar, it is the animal cells that break the sugar back down to carbon
dioxide to make energy. This also reflects the cyclic functions of Nature and the
interdependence of organisms through which Life on earth flourishes.

Read more: Difference Between Animal and Plant cells | Difference Between | Animal vs
Plant cells http://www.differencebetween.net/science/difference-between-animal-and-plant-
cells/#ixzz1OTPZ6ll0

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