Question

What are the unique features of plant cells?

Answer 1

The cell is the structural and functional unit of life. Cells are broadly classified into two domains- prokaryotic and eukaryotic. Most of the organelles present in the plant cell and the animal cell are the same and both the cells are almost similar in structure since both are eukaryotic cells. Only they differ in a few points which help them to perform certain specific functions and metabolic reactions.

Complete answer:
The unique features of the plant cell (with respect to the animal cell) are:
1. The plant cell contains a cell wall around its outer cell membrane which is mainly composed of proteins and cellulose. This is the major structural difference between a plant cell and an animal cell. An animal cell only has the cell membrane.
2. A large central vacuole is present in the plant cells which stores the nutrients and also takes part in molecular degradation. This large vacuole gradually pushes the nucleus to the periphery, i.e., at one side of the cell.
3. The lysosomes are present but in very rare cases since the vacuoles perform the task of lysosomes mostly.
4. Plastids are present only in plant cells. These are chloroplasts, chromoplasts and leucoplasts. They help in pigmentation of the cells. The green pigments (chloroplasts) impart green color to the plant parts and are capable of performing photosynthesis.
5. The plant cell does not contain centrioles. Cell division takes place with the help of astral rays.

Note:
The plant cells differ from the animal cells in other structural and functional aspects as well like size, shape, nature of storage material for energy, number of Golgi apparatus, etc. But the point to be noted is that these are not of unique significance to the plant cells, i.e., you can’t distinguish between a plant cell and other cells by just referring to these features. You need certain distinct features which are easy to observe and you can directly conclude which is a plant cell and which is not.