Specialised animal and plant cells

​​In a nutshell

As multicellular organisms can be quite complex and have many body functions, they need to have different types of cells that are specialised to carry out a particular function. These cells have features that might be slightly different from the typical cell you have learnt about so far. 

Specialised cells

Cells can develop specific features unique to that cell. These features help the cell be best suited to their function. Cells go through a process called differentiation to get different features. This involves genes being switched on and off, as genes control how a cell behaves and how they appear through the production of specific proteins.

In animals, all cells differentiate early on in life, but as we grow older our cells lose the ability to differentiate. To make more of the same type of cell, cells will undergo mitosis which produces identical clones. 

In plants, cells can continue to differentiate throughout life. They differentiate based on where they are located in the plant.

Animal cells

Example

Sperm cells are male reproductive cells. Along with the typical features of an animal cell, they also have certain adaptations to increase the chances of fertilisation. For example, a sperm cell has a tail that helps it swim towards the egg. It also has a lot of mitochondria to provide energy for swimming. The head of a sperm cell is called an acrosome. It contains enzymes that will digest through the jelly coat of the egg. 

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Example

Egg cells are female reproductive cells. They have lots of cytoplasm to store nutrients and a thick jelly coat to prevent more than one sperm fertilising them. 

Example

Red blood cells are found in our blood vessels and carry oxygen to other cells and tissues that need it for respiration. They are small, thin disc-like shapes so that they can pass easily through narrow blood vessels. They also have a biconcave shape to increase the surface area available to carry oxygen. Red blood cells do not have a nucleus to make more space for carrying oxygen. The cell membrane of red blood cells is quite thin to allow quick diffusion of oxygen in and out of the cell. 

Plant cells

Example

Root hair cells are a type of specialised plant cells found in the root of plants. They have an irregular shape with a long finger-like extension to increase the surface area available for absorbing water and minerals from the soil. They also have a large vacuole to store the water that is absorbed.