The Fundamental Unit of Life

Vacuoles are membrane bound cell organelles. Vacuoles are similar to lysosomes or specialised lysosomes and do cleaning processes and balance water inside and outside of the cell.

Vacuoles have no specific shape and size. The size and shape of vacuoles depend upon the requirement of the cell. Vacuoles are formed by the fusion of multiple vesicles and are hence larger than the vesicles in size. The size of vacuoles is smaller in animal cells compare to plant cells.

Vacuoles may store liquid or solid and hence are called the storage sacs of liquids or solids. The membrane of the vacuoles keeps the material inside separate from the outer environment of the cell.

Vacuoles isolate toxic or harmful material or waste products inside the cell and get rid of these materials. Vacuoles support the structure of the leaves and flowers of a plant along with the turgidity and rigidity of the cells.

Vacuoles stores amino acids, sugars, and other various amino acids and proteins which are necessary for the life of plant cells. In unicellular organisms, the amoeba food vacuole contains food items that have to be consumed.

In plants, vacuoles may occupy 50% to 60% of the cell volume.

Cell Division

The process of division of cells to form new cells is called Cell division. The growth and reproduction of organisms take place through cell division.

In eukaryotes, the cell division is of two types: Mitosis and Meiosis.

Mitosis

The division of cells into two cells for the growth and repair of the tissues is called Mitosis. The Mitosis is known as Vegetative Division also.

The cell from which new cells are formed is called Mother Cell or Parent Cell. And the new cells produced after division are called Daughter Cells.

Daughter cells are copies of the parent cell and hence contain the same genetic information. This means daughter cells are genetically identical to the parent cell.

The daughter cells produced in the process of mitosis have the same number of chromosomes as the mother cells.

Meiosis

The division of cells for reproduction in eukaryotes is known as Meiosis.

The meiosis takes place in the specific cells of reproductive organs of plants and animals. In the meiosis consecutive two divisions take place to complete the division. In this division, four cells are formed instead of two in mitosis. The cell divides to form gametes which give rise to offspring after fertilisation.

The new cells formed in the mitosis have half number of chromosomes as the mother cells. In humans, the number of chromosomes is 46 in each cell. Hence, the daughter cell produced for reproduction by meiosis has a total of 23 chromosomes.