Animal & Plant Cells
The main features of animals:
They are multicellular
Their cells contain a nucleus with a distinct membrane
Their cells do not have cellulose cell walls
Their cells do not contain chloroplasts (so they are unable to carry out photosynthesis)
They feed on organic substances made by other living things
They often store carbohydrates as glycogen
They usually have nervous coordination
They are able to move from place to place
Plant cell
The main features of plants:
They are multicellular
Their cells contain a nucleus with a distinct membrane
Their cells have cell walls made out of cellulose
Their cells contain chloroplasts (so they can carry out photosynthesis)
They feed by photosynthesis
They store carbohydrates as starch or sucrose
They do not have nervous coordination
Bacteria Cells
Bacteria, which have a wide variety of shapes and sizes, all share the following biological characteristics:
They are microscopic single-celled organisms
Possess a cell wall (made of peptidoglycan, not cellulose), cell membrane, cytoplasm and ribosomes
Lack a nucleus but contain a circular chromosome of DNA that floats in the cytoplasm
Plasmids are sometimes present - these are small rings of DNA (also floating in the cytoplasm) that contain extra genes to those found in the chromosomal DNA
They lack mitochondria, chloroplasts and other membrane-bound organelles found in animal and plant cells
Some bacteria also have a flagellum (singular) or several flagella (plural). These are long, thin, whip-like tails attached to bacteria that allow them to move
Examples of bacteria include:
Lactobacillus (a rod-shaped bacterium used in the production of yoghurt from milk)
Pneumococcus (a spherical bacterium that acts as the pathogen causing pneumonia)
