Table 1.
Cross-kingdom comparison of cell biological features in animals, plants and fungi
| Animals (metazoa) | Plants (Viridiplantae) | (Filamentous) Fungi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cell features | |||
| Cell size and shape | Smaller cells, irregular structures common | Larger cells, often spherical or cubic | Larger cells, typically tube-shaped hyphae |
| Protrusions | Cellular protrusions such as microvilli, pseudopods and cilia (undulipodia) present | Cellular protrusions such as root hairs present; cilia only in mosses and ferns—not in seed plants | Cellular protrusions, mainly as germ tubes and conidial anastomosis tubes |
| Flagellae | Present on sperm cells | Flagellated sperm cells in some phyla (bryophytes, ferns and some gymnosperms) | Mostly absent (apart from basal lineages) |
| Motile cilia | Present | Absent | Absent |
| Totipotency | Rare | Common | Common |
| Extracellular matrix | |||
| Composition | Soft network of macromolecules, composed of glycoproteins and glucosaminoglycans with little polysaccharides (hyaluronic acid) | Solid cell wall mainly composed of carbohydrate polymers (lead molecule cellulose), plasmolysis possible, occurrence of more plastic primary and very rigid lignified secondary cell walls | Semi-solid cell wall matrix composed of carbohydrate polymers (lead molecules chitin and glucans) cross-linked with glycoproteins |
| Cell junctions | |||
| Types | Focal adhesions, desmososmes, hemidesmosomes, gap junctions, tight junctions | Plasmodesmata, Casparian strip | Germling and hyphal fusion, porous septa |
| Organelles | |||
| Specific organelles | None (?) | Plastids (chloroplasts) | Woronin bodies, Spitzenkörper |
| Lysosomes | Many small lysosomes | Large central vacuole | Functionally diverse vacuoles |
| Golgi apparatus | Few stacks | Many stacks | Tubules and sheets, sometimes stacked |
| Active transport | Along microtubules | Along actin filaments | Along microtubules and actin filaments |
| Cytoplasmic streaming | Rare (oocytes) | Common | Common |
| Lipids | |||
| Sterols | Cholesterol | Different (phyto-)sterols | Ergosterol |
| Phosphoinositides | All seven possible mono-, di- and triphosphorylated PtdIns versions are present | PtdIns(3,4)P2 and PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 so far not reliably identified | PtdIns(3,4,5)P3, so far reliably identified |
| Cytoskeleton | |||
| Centrioles | Present | Absent | Absent |
| Microtubule nucleation | Typically at centrioles, but also non-centrosomal MTOCs exist | At various sites on the nuclear envelope or at the plasma membrane | At spindle pole bodies |
| Motor proteins | Myosins, kinesins and dyneins | Myosins and kinesins (no dyneins but instead minus-end oriented kinesins) | Myosins, kinesins and dyneins |
| Septins | Present | Absent | Present |
| Intermediate filaments | Present (including lamins) | Absent, but possibly proteins with functions analogous to lamins present | Absent, but possibly proteins with functions analogous to lamins present |
| Motor proteins | |||
| Dyneins | Present | Absent | Present |
| Cell cycle regulation | |||
| p53 | Present | Absent | Present („p53-like “) |
| Rb | Present | Present | Absent |
| Mitosis and cytokinesis | |||
| Mitosis | Open | Open | Closed or semi-open/semi-closed |
| Cytokinesis | Contractile actomyosin ring | New cell wall (phragmoplast, cell plate) | Contractile actomyosin ring |
| Apoptosis | |||
| Caspases | Present | Absent (but so-called metacaspases present) | Absent (but so-called metacaspases present) |
| Bax/Bax Inhibitor | Present/present | Absent/present | Absent/present |
| Signal transduction | |||
| GPCRs | Many GPCRs | No (known) GPCRs but heterotrimeric G protein | Few GPCRs (e.g. pheromone response, nutrient sensing, cAMP) |
| Calcium channels | Many different types | Fewer types | Numerous different types |
| Growth | |||
| Tip growth | Only in neurons | Few cell types | Common (for apical extension of hyphae) |
| Multicellular context | |||
| Mobile cells | Present | Absent | Absent |
| Contractile cells | Present | Absent | Absent |
| Electrically excitable cells | Nerve and muscle cells | Guard cells | Galvanotropism |
| Long distance transport | Via circular system | Via transport tissues (phloem and xylem), no cell transport | Long-distance endosome trafficking |
| Tumor formation | Frequent, including metastases | Rare, no metastases | No |
| Non-self recognition (immunity) | Innate and adaptive immunity, professional immune cells and cell-autonomous immunity | Innate immunity (RLK- and NLR-based), cell-autonomous immunity | Innate immunity (NLR-based) |