Plant Cell Structure

Plant cells are the basic unit of life found in organisms belonging to the Plantae Kingdom. Just like animal cells, these are also eukaryotic cells, meaning they are composed of a true nucleus and have specialised structures, which we refer to as organelles.

These organelles are known for carrying out various functions. For example, there is a unique organelle in a plant cell that we refer to as chloroplasts. These organelles are responsible for creating sugars through photosynthesis. There is also a cell wall that offers structural support to the cells. In this article, we will see the structure of a plant cell in detail. 

What are the different structures of a plant cell? 

Different parts are present in the plant cell to carry out its other functions. We refer to these parts as organelles. There are several common organelles between plant and animal cells; however, some specialised parts exist only in plants. We will look at some of these parts below:

Plastids: Leucoplasts and chloroplasts

Plastids are essential subcellular organelles in plants that have evolved to conduct specialised functions such as photosynthesis and metabolite production and storage.

Leucoplasts and chloroplasts are some of the most critical forms of plastids in a plant cell. Chloroplast is the site of photosynthesis in the cells of a leaf. It is responsible for the execution of photosynthesis.

Some of the plant cells can contain around one hundred chloroplasts. These organelles are disk-shaped and are surrounded by a double membrane.

Leucoplast, on the other hand, is found in the non-photosynthetic cells of plants where lipids, proteins, and starch are stored. 

Vacuoles

What makes a plant cell unique is its large central vacuole. It is a small sphere of plasma membrane present within the cell that may have ions, fluid, and other molecules. They are large blisters and can be present in cells of various organisms.

But, plant cells contain a large vacuole that may take up to 30% to 90% of the cell’s total volume. The plant cell’s central vacuole helps maintain the turgor pressure. If the turgor pressure lowers, the plant will wilt.

Cell wall

It is a tough layer that surrounds the plant cell. It provides strength to the cell and maintains high turgidity. Cellulose, lignins, hemicelluloses, pectin, and other molecules are present in the cell wall of a plant cell.

The cell walls of other organisms differ from the plant cell wall due to their composition. But, most importantly, animal cells do not have a cell wall while plant cells do. 

There are two cell walls in a plant cell, primary and secondary. The former is a flexible layer on the outside, while the latter is a thick and rigid layer on the inside.

Other organelles

In addition to the ones mentioned above, there are other organelles in a plant cell similar to organelles in different kinds of eukaryotic cells. 

DNA is present in the nucleus. It consists of instructions to make proteins responsible for controlling all the body’s activities. Further, it also regulates the division and growth of the cell.

In ribosomes, proteins are synthesised in the endoplasmic reticulum. They modify, fold, sort, and package the Golgi apparatus into vesicles. Plant cells also consist of mitochondria that produce ATP.

There is cytosol within the cells, i.e., the liquid composed of water, proteins, ions, and small molecules. A cytoskeleton is a network of filaments and tubules present all over the cell’s cytoplasm that provides shape to the cell and stabilisation of tissues. 

It also anchors organelles and plays a role in cell signalling. Further, the entire cell is surrounded by a cell membrane.

Plant cell structure diagram

The plant cell structure diagram is given below: 

Conclusion

Plant cells have distinctive features that include cell walls, chloroplasts, and intracellular vacuoles. For example, through chloroplasts, photosynthesis takes place. Moreover, the cell walls enable the plant to have solid and upright structures. Similarly, the vacuoles can regulate the cell’s water handling capacity and its ability to store other molecules.