VACUOLESPlant vs Animal

What’s a vacuole?

A large vesicle made from the endoplasmic reticulum and the golgi apparatus

Two types in plant cells Food vacuoles- formed by phagocytosis Contractile vacuole- pumps excess water out of

cell to maintain a suitable concentration of ions and molecules inside the cell

Certain vacuoles carry out enzymatic hydrolysis

Can also hold important organic compounds Ex: the proteins in storage cells in seeds

Also stores “poisonous” compounds to protect the plants against herbivores

The central vacuole is made up of smaller vacuoles Inside has cell sap which is made up of

inorganic ions like potassium and chloride Central vacuole plays a major role in the

growth of plant cells How? As the cell absorbs more water, the

vacuole gets bigger too which enlarges the whole cell

Plant cells mainly have one large central vacuole that stores water and retains the turgidity of the cell Central vacuole can take up to 90% of cell

volume

Animal Cell In some animal cells, vacuoles are absent. Vacuoles in animal cells are much smaller

than those found in plant cells. Although they are smaller, they are more

abundant in number. Common vacuoles found in animal cells

are phagocytic vacuoles, food vacuoles, and contractile vacuoles.

Animal cells have multiple vacuoles that store water, ions, wastes, and food reserves like sugars and mineral salts.

Exocytosis & Endocytosis

These vacuoles assist in the large processes of exocytosis and endocytosis.

They are used as storage vesicles that contain and transport selected proteins and lipids before disposing them to the extracellular compartment of the cell.

With endocytosis, the vacuoles are helpful after phagocytosis. When the engulfed material is pinched off, they are enclosed within these vacuoles.