By Yosuke, Mathew, and Jenny Vacuole
Dec 14, 2015
What is vacuole?Vacuoles plays role in
intracellular digestion and release of cellular waste products.
What are the function of vacuole? Isolating materials that might be harmful or
a threat to the cell. Containing waste products, small molecules
and water(in the plant cells). Maintaining internal turgor pressure within
the cell which can help to shape and buoyancy(the force that make an object rise or move upward) for plant cells
Maintaining an acidic internal pH Exporting unwanted substances from the cell Allows plants to support structures such as
leaves and flowers due to the pressure of the central vacuole
In seeds, stored proteins needed for germination are kept in 'protein bodies', which are modified vacuoles
What is inside the vacuole?Waste products (water, carbon
dioxide, some acids…)Nutrients Energy products
Where is the vacuole located ?Vacuoles are found in the cytoplasm of plant
and animal cells.There is no specific place that the vacuole
located in either animal cell or plant cell. In a plant cell, one large vacuole accounts
for most the area in the cell.Animal cells can have multiple smaller
vacuoles.Plant CellAnimal Cell
Bacteria vacuolesMost prokaryotic cells do not have
vacuoles however there are some exceptions.
Large vacuoles are found in three genera of sulfur bacteria, the Thioploca, Beggiatoa and Thiomargarita.
The vacuole can occupy between 40–98% of the cell. The vacuole contains high concentrations of nitrate ions and is thought to be a storage organelle.
Vacuole in plant cellsVacuole tends to be large in the
plants cell. It can regulates turgor pressure and create rigidity which will help to increase cell size during growth.
Vacuoles in animal cellThe vacuole in an animal cell is
much smaller than in a plant cell. It is used to remove things from the cell including lipids, proteins and waste products.
Plant vacuole VS Animal vacuole
Plant Animal
Size Big Small
Amount Usually one More than one, varies
Turgor PressureIn plant cells, Vacuoles help control
the turgor pressure.Turgor pressure manages the
rigidity of the cell.When a plant receives water, the
central vacuole swells which creates a high turgor pressure and helps the plant stay upright. When the plant does not get enough water, the vacuoles shrivel and the plant wilts. The turgor pressure has decreased.
ExamplesQ: why fruits are usually sweet? A: because vacuoles keep nutrients, that’s why the fruit is sweet.Q: why plants look colorful? A: because vacuoles keep the waste products, that’s why plants have various colors.
What will happen if vacuole is not in the cell?
The plant cells will wilt without sufficient water, turgor pressure drop. Which vacuole store those things.
It doesn’t really matter if there is vacuole in animals cell because in animal cells there is no cell wall so almost all the small waste products can go through the cell membrane by themselves.
Five facts1) Plant cells usually have one big
vacuole while animal cells usually have multiple small vacuoles.
2) Vacuoles help store things for the cell such as energy and waste.
3) Vacuoles help the structure of plants using turgor pressure.
4) The vacuole is a type of vesicle.5) Prokaryotic cells generally do not
have vacuoles except in some sulfurous bacteria.