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SparkNotes:CellDifferences:PlantCells

PlantCells

Figure%:GeneralizedPlantCell

Structurally,plantandanimalcellsareverysimilarbecausetheyarebotheukaryotic
cells.Theybothcontainmembraneboundorganellessuchasthenucleus,mitochondria,
endoplasmicreticulum,golgiapparatus,lysosomes,andperoxisomes.Bothalsocontain
similarmembranes,cytosol,andcytoskeletalelements.Thefunctionsoftheseorganelles
areextremelysimilarbetweenthetwoclassesofcells(peroxisomesperformadditional
complexfunctionsinplantcellshavingtodowithcellularrespiration).However,thefew
differencesthatexistbetweenplantandanimalsareverysignificantandreflecta
differenceinthefunctionsofeachcell.
Plantcellscanbelargerthananimalcells.The
normalrangeforananimalcellvariesfrom10
to30micrometerswhilethatforaplantcell
stretchesfrom10to100micrometers.Beyond
size,themainstructuraldifferencesbetween
plantandanimalcellslieinafewadditional
structuresfoundinplantcells.Thesestructures
include:chloroplasts,thecellwall,and
vacuoles.

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Figure%:PlantCellv.AnimalCell

Chloroplasts
Inanimalcells,themitochondriaproducesthemajorityofthecellsenergyfromfood.It
doesnothavethesamefunctioninplantcells.Plantcellsusesunlightastheirenergy
sourcethesunlightmustbeconvertedintoenergyinsidethecellinaprocesscalled
photosynthesis.Chloroplastsarethestructuresthatperformthisfunction.Theyarerather
large,doublemembraneboundstructures(about5micrometersacross)thatcontainthe
substancechlorophyll,whichabsorbssunlight.Additionalmembraneswithinthe
chloroplastcontainthestructuresthatactuallycarryoutphotosynthesis.
Chloroplastscarryoutenergyconversionthroughacomplexsetofreactionssimilarto
thoseperformedbymitochondriainanimals.Thedoublemembranestructureof
chloroplastsisalsoreminiscentofmitochondria.Theinnermembraneenclosesanarea
calledthestoma,whichisanalogoustothematrixinmitochondriaandhousesDNA,
RNA,ribosomes,anddifferentenzymes.Chloroplasts,however,containathird
membraneandaregenerallylargerthanmitochondria.
TheCellWall
Anotherstructuraldifferencebetweeninplantcellsisthepresenceofarigidcellwall
surroundingthecellmembrane.Thiswallcanrangefrom0.1to10micrometersthickand
iscomposedoffatsandsugars.Thetoughwallgivesaddedstabilityandprotectionto
theplantcell.
Vacuoles
Vacuolesarelarge,liquidfilledorganellesfoundonlyinplantcells.Vacuolescanoccupy
upto90%ofacell'svolumeandhaveasinglemembrane.Theirmainfunctionisasa
spacefillerinthecell,buttheycanalsofilldigestivefunctionssimilartolysosomes
(whicharealsopresentinplantcells).Vacuolescontainanumberofenzymesthat
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performdiversefunctions,andtheirinteriorscanbeusedasstoragefornutrientsor,as
mentioned,provideaplacetodegradeunwantedsubstances.

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