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If The Function(s) of Organelles Do Not Work Well ...

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Each organelle is involved in various functions through the plant life cycle. If the function(s) of organelle do not work well, how are plants affected? Here, you can view the morphology and response of plants, whose organelle function(s) are defective. Click a picture to show a large picture or a movie.

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Problems with Organelles in Cells Associated with Alzheimer's disease. In the cells of people with this disorder there is a significant impairment in ribosome function that is not observed in the cerebellum. This is a progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain.

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Animal and Plant Cells by Michelle Krzmarzick - July 19, 2012

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Cells have often been referred to as "the building blocks of life", which indeed they are. All forms of life, from simple bacteria to human beings, are made up of cells. What is remarkable is that, despite their apparent differences, plant and animal life are made up of cells that are actually the same in most respects.

The most important structures of plant and animal cells are shown in the diagrams below, which provide a clear illustration of how much these cells have in common. The significant differences between plant and animal cells are also shown. The diagrams are followed by more in-depth information.

The structures within the cell, such as the nucleus and mitochondria, are known as organelles. The diagram above is of a "generic" animal cell. In both animals and plants, cells generally become specialized to perform certain functions. Nerve cells, bone cells and liver cells, for example, all develop in ways that enable them to better perform their specific duties. Most animal cells, however, contain the structures shown in the diagram.

Below is a "generic" plant cell diagram. The structure of plant cells can vary during the early stages of growth. This diagram depicts a mature plant cell.

Eukaryotic Cells

Eukaryotic cells are cells that contain a well-defined nucleus, and in which the other organelles are held together by membranes. Plants and animals are both eukaryotes, and as you can see, their cells are quite similar in many ways. Organelles that can be found in both plant and animal cells include the following:

Cell Membrane: surrounds and protects the contents of the cell. The membrane is selectively permeable, meaning that it allows certain molecules to pass through it and enter the cell, while preventing others from doing so.

Cytoplasm: the fluid which fills the cell, in which the organelles are suspended.

Nucleus: the cell's command center, regulating the various processes within the cell. The nucleus, which also contains most of the cell's genetic material, is usually located near the center of animal cells, and closer to the edge in plants.

Mitochondria: converts food into energy. Active cells, which require more energy, usually contain a greater number of mitochondria. Plant cells tend to have fewer mitochondria than animal cells. Mitochondria also contain a small amount of DNA, and therefore play a role in genetics.

Ribosomes: generate proteins from amino acids. Some ribosomes are attached to the endoplasmic reticulum, others float freely within the cytoplasm.

Endoplasmic Reticulum: a series of sacs and tubes used to process substances such as protein and lipids, and transport them to the golgi bodies for distribution to other locations. The area where ribosomes are attached is called the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The area without ribosomes is known as the smooth endoplasmic reticulum.

Golgi Bodies: location where substances received from the endoplasmic reticulum are processed and carried to the proper location within the cell, or out of the cell altogether.

Vacuoles: sacs which serve as storage units. When found in animal cells, vacuoles are tiny, and are used to carry substances out of the cell, or to engulf undesirable substances such as bacteria or bits of dead tissue. In plant cells, the vacuole plays a much larger role, which is described in the section below.

Primary Differences Between Plant and Animal Cells

Plant cells have to perform two functions not required of animal cells:

1. Produce their own food (which they do in a process called photosynthesis).

2. Support their own weight (which animals usually do by means of a skeleton).

The structures possessed by plant cells for performing these two functions create the primary differences between plant and animals cells. These structures are:

Cell Wall: a wall on the outside of the membrane, which, in combination with the vacuole (as described below), helps the cell maintain its shape and rigidity.

Plastids: used in photosynthesis to convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into food. The most well-known plastids are chloroplasts, which contain the chlorophyll that gives many plants their green hue.

Large Vacuole: while animal cells may have many tiny vacuoles, a plant cell usually has a single large vacuole, which serves as a storage tank for food, water, waste products and other materials. The vacuole has an important structural function, as well. When filled with water, the vacuole exerts internal pressure against the cell wall, which helps keep the cell rigid. A plant that is wilting has vacuoles that are no longer filled with water.

Centrioles

Animal cells contain organelles known as centrioles, which are not present in plant cells. Centrioles, which help move chromosomes during cell division, are generally only visible when an animal cell is actually dividing.

It is believed that because animal cells, which are softer than plant cells, can change shape, centrioles are required to ensure that the chromosomes are in the proper location when the cell divides. Plant cells, with their more fixed shape, can safely assume that the chromosomes are correctly positioned without the use of such a mechanism.

Plants and Animals: Common Ancestor

How is it that plant and animal cells have so much in common? As hard as it may be to imagine, biologists believe that at an early point in the evolution of life on earth, plants and animals once shared a common ancestor. All life on earth, it seems, truly is related.

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Plant Cells vs. Animal Cells, With Diagrams

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Cells have often been referred to as "the building blocks of life", which indeed they are. All forms of life, from simple bacteria to human beings, are made up of cells. What is remarkable is that, despite their apparent differences, plant and animal life are made up of cells that are actually the same in most respects.

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What is a cell?

All living organisms on Earth are made of really tiny particles called cells. Cells are the basis which makes up the structure of all living beings- all animals and all plants. Cells can only be seen under a microscope. Cells join together to form tissues which join together to make organs, an organic system which makes a living organism.

Plant cell structure and functions:

The plants cell has a cell wall. This wall protects the contents on the cell and also limits a cell size. It is made up of chemicals like cellulose; an important sugar glucose for plants.

Next is the cell membrane which is a thin layer of protein and fats and allows only few substances to pass through it.

Chloroplast is a disc shaped organelle containing the Chlorophyll which is a molecule inside the cell that plants use to make food- the process of photosynthesis. It absorbs sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar and oxygen.

Plant cells contain the mitochondrion which is a spherical or rod shaped organelle that converts energy stored in the form of glucose.
In the center is the nucleus which controls all the functions of the cell and is surrounded by a nuclear membrane.

They also have a permanent vacuole that takes up 90% of the cell volume and it helps the cell be turgid- swollen with water.

Animal cell structure and functions:

The animal cell contains an external membrane which gives shape to cells and controls movement of materials like oxygen and carbon dioxide to pass in and out of cells.

The central part of the cell is the nucleus which has a small structure called the chromosome in it. These chromosomes carry genes which are responsible for our hereditary characters passed on from our parents and ancestors.

The cell contains an endoplasmic reticulum which is a tube like structure connecting different parts of a cell and helps them to carry materials.

The mitochondria are like a power house of a cell. They are found in large numbers and help in respiration process of a cell that helps in energy formation.

Cells also contain Lysosomes which have enzymes that help in digestion of food.

Difference between plant cell and animal cell

Animal cells do not have a cell wall or chloroplasts but plant cells do. Animal cells are round and irregular in shape but plants cells are rectangular and have a fixed shape. Animal cells contain lysosomes which are absent in plant cells. Animal cells have one or more small vacuoles but plant cells have only one big vacuole.

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Plant Cell and Animal cell Difference - Biology for Kids | Mocomi

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All living organisms on Earth are made of really tiny particles called cells. Cells are the basis which makes up the structure of all living beings- all animals and all plants. Cells can only be seen under a microscope. Cells join together to form tissues which join together to make organs, an organic system which makes a living organism.

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BBC - KS3 Bitesize Science - Cells to systems : Revision, Page 3

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A key stage 3 revision and recap resource for science, covering cells, tissues, organs and systems.

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oxford university museum of natural history

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Copy of What Would Happen If Your Cells Lost Their Cell Membrane

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What If? What if your cell lost its cell membrane? What would it look like? Yes, lets start by what it would look like. That is what it would look like. What It Would Do To The Nulceus! What would happen to the cell's nucleus if your cell doesn't have a cell membrane?

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Cell membranes surround every cell you will study. Cell walls made of cellulose are only found around plant cells and a few other organisms. Cellulose is a specialized sugar that is classified as a structural carbohydrate and not used for energy. If a plant cell is like a water balloon, the cell wall is like a cardboard box that protects the balloon. The balloon is protected from the outside world by a structure that provides protection and support.

While many sugars, such as glucose, can dissolve in water (H ₂0), cellulose will not dissolve in water and can form long chains to support plants. When you eat plant material, you can't even digest and break down cellulose for energy. Cows and other herbivores have special bacteria in their stomachs to digest the cellulose polymers.

While cell walls protect the cells, they also allow plants to grow to great heights. You have a skeleton to hold you up. A 100-foot tall redwood tree does not. It uses the strong cell walls to maintain its shape. For overall support, dense cells in the core of the trunk can let a tree grow very high. Cell walls are slightly elastic for smaller plants, leaves, and thin branches. Winds can push them from side to side and they bounce back. Big redwoods need strength in high winds and sway very little (except at the top).

A cell wall is not an impenetrable fortress around the delicate plant cell. There are small holes, called plasmodesmata, in the cell walls between plant cells. The cell membranes of neighboring cells are able to connect through these holes. The connections allow the transfer of nutrients, waste, and ions (symplastic pathways). Molecules can also pass through the spaces within the cell walls, avoiding the cells completely (apoplastic pathways).

It is great that nutrients can move from cell to cell, but there is also a problem with all the holes. Cells can lose water. Plants lose large amounts of water in the middle of the day or on very hot days. When the air heats up and the water vapor pressure decreases, plants lose water through the process of transpiration. The water escapes through pores on the surface of the plant called stomata. Even when the plant cells lose water, the basic shape is maintained by the cell walls. The plant may droop or wilt, but it can recover when water returns to the system. It will look just the same as when it started.

You may hear about cell walls in other species. Bacteria have a structure called a cell wall. Fungi and some ptotozoa also have cell walls. They are not the same as the plant cell walls made of cellulose. The other walls might be made from proteins or a substance called chitin. Chitin is another structural carbohydrate. They all serve the same purpose of protecting and maintaining structure, but they are very different molecules.

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Biology4Kids.com: Cell Structure: Cell Walls

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Cell membranes surround every cell you will study. Cell walls made of cellulose are only found around plant cells and a few other organisms. Cellulose is a specialized sugar that is classified as a structural carbohydrate and not used for energy.