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Summary Table of Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells and Functions

Table 1 Components of Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells and Functions

Cell Component	Function	Present in Prokaryotes	Present in Animal Cells	Present in Plant Cells
Plasma Membrane	Separates cell from external environment; controls passage of organic molecules, ions, water, oxygen, and wastes into and out of the cell	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cytoplasm	Provides structure to cell; site of many metabolic reactions; medium in which organelles are found	Yes	Yes	Yes
Nucleoid	Location of DNA	Yes	No	No
Nucleus	Cell organelle that houses DNA and directs synthesis of ribosomes and proteins	No	Yes	Yes
Ribosomes	Protein synthesis	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mitochondria	ATP production/cellular respiration	No	Yes	Yes
Peroxisomes	Oxidizes and breaks down fatty acids and amino acids, and detoxifies poisons	No	Yes	Yes
Vesicles and vacuoles	Storage and transport; digestive function in plant cells	No	Yes	Yes
Centrosome	Unspecified role in cell division in animal cells; organizing center of microtubules in animal cells	No	Yes	No
Lysosomes	Digestion of macromolecules; recycling of worn-out organelles	No	Yes	No
Cell wall	Protection, structural support and maintenance of cell shape	Yes, primarily peptidoglycan in bacteria but not Archaea	No	Yes, primarily cellulose
Chloroplasts	Photosynthesis	No	No	Yes
Endoplasmic reticulum	Modifies proteins and synthesizes lipids	No	Yes	Yes
Golgi apparatus	Modifies, sorts, tags, packages, and distributes lipids and proteins	No	Yes	Yes
Cytoskeleton	Maintains cell’s shape, secures organelles in specific positions, allows cytoplasm and vesicles to move within the cell, and enables unicellular organisms to move independently	Yes	Yes	Yes
Flagella	Cellular locomotion	Some	Some	No, except for some plant sperm.
Cilia	Cellular locomotion, movement of particles along extracellular surface of plasma membrane, and filtration	No	Some	No

Table 1 This table provides the components of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and their respective functions.

References

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Text adapted from: OpenStax, Concepts of Biology. OpenStax CNX. May 18, 2016 http://cnx.org/contents/b3c1e1d2-839c-42b0-a314-e119a8aafbdd@9.10

Membranes and movement of molecules

Biology