A Cell is the basic structural and functional unit of organisms. The word ‘cell’ is derived from the Latin word “cella” which means “small room”. The type and number of cells in plants and animals vary. The cells can be classified in different ways. For example, based on the presence of a nuclear membrane, the cells are classified into two types i.e Eukaryotic and prokaryotic. Cells may also be classified based on the number of cells an organism is made of i.e unicellular, multicellular, and acellular.

Brief on Animal Cell

An animal cell is typically a eukaryotic type that has a well-defined nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles such as mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus. All cells are surrounded by a cell membrane or plasma membrane which separates the inner and outer components of the cell. The cell components are suspended in a fluid called cytoplasm.

Animals are multicellular organisms. The cells are specialized to perform various functions. Also, they look and function differently from each other even if they belong to the same organism.

Animal Cell Types

There are numerous types of animal cells and each of them is designed to serve specific functions. However, some of the most common types of animal cells are as follows:

Skin Cells
Melanocytes, keratinocytes, Merkel cells and Langerhans cells

Muscle Cells
Myocyte, Myosatellite cells, Tendon cells, Cardiac muscle cells

Blood Cells
Leukocytes, erythrocytes, platelet

Nerve Cells
Schwann cell, glial cells etc

Fat Cells
Adipocytes

Animal cells need to adapt to a more active and non-sedentary lifestyle as animals acquire their food, hence, they do not possess any of the specialized cell organelles such as chloroplasts.

Brief on Plant Cell

A plant cell is mainly a eukaryotic cell with a true nucleus and organelles similar to an animal cell but also consists of certain specific components such as chloroplasts which carry out photosynthesis. Plants are multicellular and have a distinct rigid wall surrounding the cells.

Plant Cell Functions

The plant cells are the building blocks of the plants. Since photosynthesis (the process of preparing food by the plants, by utilizing sunlight, carbon dioxide and water) is the major function performed by the plant cells it occurs in the chloroplasts of the plant cell.

Plant Cell Types

There are different types of plant cells some of which include the following different types:

Collenchyma Cells

These cells are hard or rigid and play a primary role in providing support to the plants if there is restraining growth due to the lack of hardening agents in the primary walls.

Sclerenchyma Cells

These are more rigid as compared to the collenchyma cells and it is because of the presence of a hardening agent. They are usually found in all the plant roots and are mainly involved in providing support to the plants.

Parenchyma Cells

The Parenchyma cells have a significant role to play in all plants. As they are the living cells of plants, which are involved in the production of leaves, they are also involved in the exchange of gasses, production of food, storage of organic products and cell metabolism. The Parenchyma cells are typically more flexible because they are thinner than other cells.

Xylem Cells

The Xylem cells are the transport cells in vascular plants. They are responsible for the transport of water and minerals from the roots to the leaves and other parts of the plants.

Phloem Cells

These are the common type of cells and the most heard ones, the phloem cells are the transport cells in vascular plants as they are responsible for transporting food which is prepared by the leaves to different parts of the plants.

Brief on Bacterial Cell

A bacterial cell is a prokaryotic cell that lacks a well-defined nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. Instead, it contains an irregular-shaped region where the genetic material is suspended. Bacteria is a single-celled organism.

Functions of a Bacterial Cell

The Cytoplasm or protoplasm is the part of the bacterial cells, where the functions for cell growth, metabolism, and replication are carried out. This is a gel-like matrix that is composed of water, enzymes, nutrients, wastes, and gasses and contains cell structures such as ribosomes, a chromosome, and plasmids.

Types of Bacteria Cells

The Bacterial cells are classified into five groups according to their basic shapes:

Spherical (cocci)
Rod (bacilli)
Spiral (spirilla)
Comma (vibrios)
Corkscrew (spirochaetes)

These can exist as single cells, in pairs, chains or clusters.

Difference Between Plant, Animal and Bacterial Cell

Characteristic	Animal Cell	Plant Cell	Bacterial Cell
Size	Animal cells are generally small in size when compared to the plant cell, on average they are 10 - 20 μm (micrometers) in diameter.	Plant cells are large. The average size of a plant cell is 10 - 100 μm in diameter	The bacterial cell is very small. It is about 0.5 - 5.0 μm in diameter almost about one-tenth the size of a eukaryotic cell.
Type	Eukaryotic cell	Eukaryotic cell	Prokaryotic cell
Shape	Animal cells vary in shape and are generally irregular due to the lack of a cell wall. They can be flat, round, oval, rectangular, concave, rod-shaped, or spherical and are mostly defined by the function they perform.	Plant cells are similar and typically rectangular or cube-shaped.	Bacterial cells are of different shapes such as spherical (cocci), rod (bacilli), spiral (spirilla), comma (vibrios) and corkscrew (spirochaetes).
Cell Wall	Animal cells lack cell walls but the cell membrane protects the cell from external damage and also plays a major role in selective permeability for the inflow and outflow of nutrients, water, and other molecules.	Plant cells have rigid cell walls that surround the plasma membrane. It provides tensile strength and protection against mechanical and osmotic stress. Plant cell walls are made up of pectic polysaccharides, proteins, cellulose, phenolic compounds, and water.	Bacterial cells have a cell wall surrounding the inner components of the cell. Apart from providing strength to the cell, it also helps in maintaining the cell shape. Bacterial cell walls are made of peptidoglycan(murein).
Nucleus	The animal cell has a well-defined nucleus and comprises genetic material. It also controls the activities of the cell by regulating gene expression, hence known as the control center of the cell.	The plant cell has a well-defined nucleus that stores the genetic material and also coordinates the cell’s activities such as cell division, metabolism, growth, and protein synthesis.	Bacterial cells lack membrane-bound nuclei. The genetic material lies suspended in the cytoplasm.
vacuoles	Animal cells generally have smaller vacuoles which sequester waste products.	Plant cells have larger vacuoles that help maintain water balance.	Bacterial cells have larger vacuoles and help to store ions and maintain water balance.
Ribosomes	Large 80S ribosomes	Large 80S ribosomes	Small 70s ribosomes.
Lysosomes	Animal cells have many lysosomes that contain digestive enzymes to break down the molecules and protect them from foreign bodies.	Lysosomes are small and less in plant cells and are not needed as they have a rigid cell wall that protects from foreign bodies that lysosomes digest.	A lysosome is absent in bacterial cells. .
Mitochondria	Present	Present	Absent
Centrioles	Animal cells have centrioles located in the cytoplasm near the nucleus. They are made of microtubules and their major function is to assist the cell division process.	Centrioles are absent in plant cells.	Centrioles are not present in bacterial cells.
Golgi apparatus	Animal cells have larger and fewer Golgi bodies.	Plant cells have small and larger numbers of Golgi bodies.	There are no Golgi bodies in bacteria.
Method of nutrition	Animals cannot produce their food from simple inorganic substances like carbon-di-oxide and water and depend on other organisms for food. Hence they are called heterotrophs.	Plants make their food in the presence of sunlight and hence are called autotrophs.	Bacteria can obtain energy from the decomposition of dead organisms or by performing photosynthesis. They are both heterotrophs and autotrophs.
Plastids	Absent	Present in plant cells, they give pigmentation color and also facilitate the trapping of sunlight for photosynthesis.	Absent.

Conclusion

Having a brief knowledge about different bacterial cells will certainly help you in learning deeper and understanding it.

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FAQs on Difference Between Plant, Animal and Bacterial Cells

1. What are the types of bacterial cells?

Bacterial cells are the type of cells that are classified based on their shapes into various categories. Also, these are the cells responsible for some of the major activities it is imperative to learn about them. Now, since we know that bacterial cells are most commonly classified based on their shape and here they are divided into three varieties:

Bacillus (rod-shaped)
Coccus (spherical)
Spiral (twisted)

There are some varieties of bacteria that are pleomorphic and can micrometer biological functions and morphology based on environmental conditions.

2. What is the similarity between plant and animal cells?

Plant and animal cells are sort of similar since both are eukaryotic cells. Both the cells contain membrane-bound organelles. Moreover, the Plant, bacteria and animal cells, three have ribosomes that contain RNA and proteins. The Ribosomes primarily translate the nucleic acids into amino acids to form proteins. The Proteins then form enzymes and play a role in every function within cells. However, the plant ribosomes are made of more strands of RNA than those in the simpler bacterial cells.

3. What is the difference between plant and animal cells and bacterial cells?

There are some major differences between the bacterial and plant and animal cells, some of which include some like since the bacteria are prokaryotic, they do not have a nucleus and no membrane-bound organelles whereas the plants and animals are made up of eukaryotic cells, which means they have a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles like mitochondria or Golgi apparatus. Thus, the major difference lies in the formation of the membrane-bound organelles and the base cells that the organism is made up of.

4.What is the major difference between a bacterial cell and the cells of other organisms?

The Bacterial cells are prokaryotic while the cells of other organisms are eukaryotic. So, the difference between bacterial cells and cells of other organisms lies in the differences between the prokaryotic cells and the eukaryotic cells. As the Prokaryotic cells have a simpler cellular organization while the eukaryotic cells have a complex cellular organization. This reasons the major difference between the two of them. Also, the meaning of both types of cells must be clear from the very beginning to ensure that further concepts are learned with ease.

5. Where can I find the Difference Between Plant, Animal, and Bacterial Cells?

The students can find the difference Between Plant, Animal, and Bacterial Cells on Vedantu’s website as the same has been explained in detail along with other concepts to help the students get their hold over the subjects like Biology. It is imperative for the students who wish to take up Biology as a stream for their future courses. The website of Vedantu also provides the students with other free resources including the study material for competitive exams, NCERT solutions, examples, practise questions, sample papers, previous year’s question papers, and much more.