3. A. PLANT VS ANIMAL CELLS
3. A. PLANT VS ANIMAL CELLS
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00:00Animal and plant cells share many similarities, since they are both eukaryotes, which means
00:05that they have a membrane-bound nucleus.
00:08Plant cells are often larger than animal cells.
00:10Well, except for eggs, the largest single animal cell is an unfertilized ostrich egg,
00:15which weighs around 1.5 kilograms.
00:18So let's discuss similarities.
00:21Both animal and plant cells have membrane-bound organelles.
00:24They also both have cytoplasm, a cell membrane, a nucleus, mitochondria, rough and smooth
00:30endoplasmic reticulum, a Golgi apparatus, and peroxisomes.
00:35The nucleus is where the genetic information of the cell is housed.
00:38The cytoplasm is not to be confused with the cytosol.
00:42The cytoplasm is the entirety of the cell contained by the cell membrane.
00:46The cytosol, on the other hand, is the part of the cytoplasm not taken up by organelles.
00:51The cell membrane is an important, semi-permeable division between the cell and its surroundings.
00:57It allows the cell to control its own biochemistry by only letting certain substances pass through
01:02it.
01:03Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell.
01:06They are specialized to perform aerobic respiration, converting glucose to ATP, which is the energy
01:12currency of the cell that is used to perform functions necessary for life.
01:16Both rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum help with the production and storage of proteins.
01:22The rough endoplasmic reticulum is covered in ribosomes, which translate RNA into protein.
01:28The smooth endoplasmic reticulum makes lipids.
01:32The Golgi apparatus modifies proteins.
01:35Peroxisomes metabolize waste.
01:37Now let's get to the differences between plant and animal cells.
01:41One major difference is that plant cells have a rigid cell wall around their plasma membrane.
01:46It is composed of cellulose, providing additional stability and protection.
01:50As a result, plant cells have fixed, angular shapes, while animal cells are mostly round
01:55and irregular.
01:57Another important difference between animals and plants is how they obtain their energy.
02:02Plants are autotrophs, which means that they produce their own food.
02:06Meanwhile, animals are heterotrophs, meaning that they must ingest their food.
02:11Plants produce sugars through photosynthesis, and then break down the sugar to produce energy.
02:17Animals consume other organisms such as plants to obtain sugar, which they then also break
02:21down to produce energy.
02:24Plants are autotrophs thanks to special organelles called chloroplasts, which are full of chlorophyll,
02:29a green pigment that captures light energy to drive the reactions in photosynthesis.
02:35Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use the sun's energy to make sugar.
02:39Once the sugar is made, it gets broken down in mitochondria.
02:43Another important difference between plant and animal cells is in their vacuoles.
02:47Vacuoles in plant cells can occupy up to 90% of the cell's volume, and have a single
02:52membrane.
02:54One of their roles is simply to fill up space, but they can also have digestive functions
02:58similar to lysosomes.
03:01Vacuoles have enzymes that perform many functions and can store nutrients or provide space to
03:05degrade waste substances.
03:08Animal cells can also have vacuoles, but they are much smaller than the large central vacuole
03:13in plant cells, there are multiple of them, and they don't take up 90% of the space.
03:19Plant and animal cells both also have cytoskeletons, which feature microtubules, intermediate filaments,
03:25and microfilaments.
03:26However, these structures are arranged differently in plant and animal cells.
03:31Centrioles are present in all animal cells, but are only present in lower plant forms
03:36such as Chlamydomonas.
03:38Centrioles are microtubule organizing centers, which are structures from which microtubules
03:43emerge.
03:44Plants don't have centrioles, but instead have many small nucleation sites.
03:49In plants, only reproductive cells, known as gametes, can have flagella, such as the
03:55sperm of bryophytes.
03:57Some animal cells also have flagella.
04:00In humans, sperm are the only cells with flagella.
04:02However, many animal cells have cilia, unlike most plant cells.
04:07For example, we have cilia in our respiratory system to help move debris and mucus, in the
04:12female reproductive system to help sperm move towards the egg, and elsewhere.
04:17Animal cells have clearly defined lysosomes, however, it's still debated whether some
04:21plant cells have them.
04:24Lysosomes are membrane-bound spherical vesicles containing hydrolytic enzymes that can break
04:28down biomolecules.
04:30They are involved in cell processes like secretion, plasma membrane repair, cell signaling,
04:36and energy metabolism.
04:38Plant cells also have plasmodesmata, which are channels that connect two plant cells.
04:44An analogous structure in animal cells is the gap junction, which connects the cytoplasm
04:48of two adjacent cells.
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