Do Plant Cells Contain Mitochondria? Curious Plant Cell Facts For Kids

Plant cells carry out some specific functions in the plant that help the plant stay alive, produce energy, and perform processes such as photosynthesis.

Plant and animal cells are very different from one another. They both have different kinds of functions, too.

However, a few things are similar in all the cells, such as the cell membrane.

Both plant and animal cells need to be producing energy in order to do the assigned work. Plant and animal cells have mitochondria, which are also known as the powerhouse of a cell. Plant cells need to produce light energy as they need to perform cellular respiration during the night.

Plant cells are eukaryotic cells. Although they require energy for their daily needs, they don't require a great amount of energy. Animal and plant cells both have a cell membrane, a cell wall, and a nuclear genome, but they are different in many ways. Plants don't move, so they don't require as much energy as animals do. More energy needs means more production, which means more requirements for mitochondria.

Animal cells have more mitochondria than plant cells. Plant cells have chloroplasts. The chloroplasts help convert light energy. Chloroplasts help the plant do essential activities, and they are responsible for photosynthesis. The chloroplast has evolved from the endosymbiotic cyanobacteria. Plant cells also have a numeral network of membranes, which can either be an inner membrane or a plasma membrane. The endoplasmic reticulum is one of them.

The endoplasmic reticulum helps the plant move proteins across the inside of the cell. The inner membrane of mitochondria is known as cristae. The cristae are the third mitochondrial compartment, and they extend into the matrix. Plant cells have a cell wall, or a rigid cell wall, but when it comes to animal cells, the cell wall is not present. The cell wall is a harder layer that is outside the outer cell membrane. The cell wall also has a certain function. The main function is to provide a street to the plant cells or the plant by providing cellulose. The more rigid the cell wall, the more stable the plant cell will be. The plant vacuoles are also an important part of the plant cell. Almost 90% of the cell's volume is covered with vacuoles. Keep reading to learn many more interesting facts about plant cells and mitochondria!

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Plant Cell Organelles List

Plant cells need more stability and a rigid structure, whereas animal cells don't need that. Animal cells need a flexible membrane; hence an animal cell doesn't have a cell wall.

There are 12 major organelles in a plant cell. The cell structures depend on these, and some of them also help to convert sunlight into food and have plants release oxygen. The nucleus is one of the organelles, along with the Golgi apparatus and lysosomes, to name a few. The lysosomes function in a way that they fill the digestive tracks. The lysosomes are essential for the cells since, without the digestive enzymes, it's not possible for a cell to function. A number of processes that go on inside plant cells are due to these organelles, such as the nucleus and lysosomes. Some single-membrane cells contain vacuoles too.

Mitochondria Structure And Function

Mitochondria are known as the powerhouse of the cell. However, this powerhouse needs certain neighbors, which help mitochondria do what they do best: produce energy.

Cytoplasm helps mitochondria in a way because the cytoplasm is a jelly-like thing, which makes several chemical reactions happen. In plants, chloroplasts are yet another important thing. Many nutrients and complex molecules are able to function due to these processes that go on with the help of the enzymes in the membranes and the plant cell. Some plant cells don't have chloroplasts, such as underground plant cells, which do not need chloroplasts. Sunlight is very important for all living things, whether they are microorganisms or macro-organisms. The presence of the sun helps plant cells perform photosynthesis and animals derive vitamin D out of it.

Use Of Mitochondria In Plant Cells

The presence of mitochondria helps the plant cells store energy as fuel molecules. These molecules are used later by the nucleus for other things.

Like important organelles such as lysosomes and chloroplasts, mitochondria are essential for plants. They store and produce energy that is essential for survival.

The Organelle That Is Only Present In Plant Cell And Not Animal Cell

Plant cells are different from animal cells in some ways. Plants need some extra organelles that an animal doesn't need.

Chloroplasts are found in plants but not in animals. Even plastids and central vacuoles are not present in animal cells. Certain differences between the two cells are bound to happen since both animal cell and plant cell have different requirements and functions.

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