Components of Plant & Bacterial Cells As Compared to Animal Cells

Bacterial Cells

• Bacteria are single-celled organisms with a basic cellular structure. There is nothing particularly unusual about bacterial cells compared to plants or animals. It has a nucleolus, which is the brain of the cell, surrounded by cytoplasm, a jelly like substance containing nutrients, and a cell membrane.

Plant Cells

• The most striking difference among plant cells and other cells is the uniform shape. Each cell is roughly square or rectangular in shape, whereas animal cell shapes varies. Around the nucleolus of the plant cell is a layer of chromatin, a DNA protein complex nourishing and protecting the cells most important element. Another vital element of a plant's cell structure is the chloroplasts which are the parts of the cells responsible for photosynthesis. Contained in the chloroplast are the granum, stroma and thylakoid. The peroxisome is another unique plant cell element which removes hydrogen from the air and water absorbed during photosynthesis. Plant cells also possess a cell wall as well as a membrane. The cell wall does roughly the same job as the membrane but is solid allowing plant cells to keep a ridged shape.

Animal Cells

• Animal cells have a similar basic structure to bacteria in that there is a nucleus surrounded by cytoplasm contained in a cell membrane. As animals are multi-cellular organisms, there is a centrosome which splits in two when the cells divide during a process called mitosis. Lysosome has a similar job to chloroplasts in plant cells as they are responsible for absorbing and digesting nutrients.

Similarities

• Although plants, bacteria and animals may seem vastly different, there are more similarities among the cell's structures than differences. All cells have a nucleus and most of the body space is taken up with cytoplasm. Plants and animals then share more components than bacteria due to more complex structures. The Vacuole is a sack filled with water within the cell. It is much larger in plants and sometimes comprises 90 percent of the total cell. It contains ions, sugars and enzymes. The Golgi body contains proteins and carbohydrates and helps maintain the cell membrane. Mitochondrions produce energy for the cell by converting glucose into adenosine triphosphate. The rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum can be seen as the intestines of the cell as they transport proteins though the cell. These are covered in ribosomes, small grains of cytoplasmic material responsible for protein synthesis.