Difference Between Plant and Animal Stem Cells

The main difference between plant and animal stem cells is that the plant stem cells help in the continuous growth of the plant throughout the lifetime whereas the animal stem cells help in the regeneration and repair in adults. Furthermore, plant stem cells are present in the meristem while animal stem cells are present in most of the tissues in the body.

Plant and animal stem cells are unspecialized cells that can differentiate into different types of cells in the body. Also, stem cells have the ability to self-renew and maintain the stem cell population.

Key Areas Covered

1. What are Plant Stem Cells
     – Definition, Niches, Role
2. What are Animal Stem Cells
     – Definition, Niches, Role
3. What are the Similarities Between Plant and Animal Stem Cells
     – Outline of Common Features
4. What is the Difference Between Plant and Animal Stem Cells
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Animal stem Cells, Apical Meristem, Lateral Meristem, Multipotent, Plant Stem Cells, Pluripotent

What are Plant Stem Cells

Plant stem cells are the undifferentiated cells in the meristem. It consists of totipotent cells that can give rise to any type of cells in the plant body. The main function of plant stem cells is to continuously supply precursor cells for the formation of plant tissues. Hence, the growth of plants occurs in the region of meristems. Apical meristem and the lateral meristem are the two regions of the meristem in plants.

Apical Meristem

Apical meristem occurs at the top of the shoot and the end of the root. It helps the primary growth of the plant, increasing the length. Apical meristem gives rise to different tissues of the plant such as the epidermis, xylem, phloem, and ground tissue. Also, it develops special structures such as leaves and flowers. Protoderm, procambium, and ground meristem are the components of the apical meristem.

Figure 1: Root Tip
1. Meristem 2. Columelle (statocytes with statolithes) 3. Lateral part of the tip 4. Dead cells 5. Elongation zone

Lateral Meristem

Lateral meristem occurs at the middle of the shoot and root, increasing the width of the plant. Hence, it helps in the secondary growth of the plant. Lateral meristem gives rise to wood, inner bark, and outer bark. The two components of the lateral meristem are vascular cambium and cork cambium.

What are Animal Stem Cells

Animal stem cells are the cells that produce new cells for the regeneration and repair of the existing tissues. They occur in most of the tissues in the body such as bone marrow and brain. Moreover, they are found in skeletal muscle, liver, pancreas, brain, eye, dental pulp, skin, bone marrow, blood and the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. The animal stem cells in these tissues continuously divide to form new cells that may remain as the stem cells or differentiate into the cells in the tissue when needed.

Figure 2: Animal Stem Cells

Hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow give rise to various types of cells in the blood. Thus, animal cells are multipotent and can give rise to several types of cells in the corresponding tissue

Similarities Between Plant and Animal Stem Cells

• Plant and animal stem cells are undifferentiated cells.
• The two types of stem cells are the embryonic stem cells and the adult stem cells.
• They are responsible for the growth by continuously dividing to produce new cells.
• Both self-renew to maintain the stem cell population.
• They are responsible for the regeneration and repair of the body parts.

Difference Between Plant and Animal Stem Cells

Definition

Plant stem cells refer to the undifferentiated cells located in the meristem of the plant whereas animal stem cells refer to the cells that produce new cells for the regeneration and repair of the existing tissues.

Niche

Plant stem cells occur is the meristem while animal stem cells occur in most of the animal tissues.

Function

Plant stem cells are responsible for the continuous growth of the plant body while animal stem cells are responsible for the regeneration and repair of the tissues.

Potency

Plant stem cells are totipotent while animal stem cells are multipotent in adults.

Conclusion

Plant stem cells help in the continuous growth of the plant while animal stem cells help in the regeneration and repair of the tissue. Also, plant stem cells are totipotent while animal stem cells are multipotent. The main difference between plant stem cells and animal stem cells is the role of each type of stem cells in the body.

Reference:

1. Heidstra, R, and S Sabatini. “Plant and Animal Stem Cells: Similar Yet Different.” Advances in Pediatrics., U.S. National Library of Medicine, May 2014, Available Here

Image Courtesy:

1. “Root-tip-tag” By SuperManu – Own work, based on File:Root tip.JPG by Clematis (CC BY-SA 2.5) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “422 Feature Stem Cell new” By OpenStax College – Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions Web site. http://cnx.org/content/col11496/1.6/, Jun 19, 2013. (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia