Difference Between Plant & Animal Cellular Respiration

Cellular respiration is not the process of breathing, as the name suggests. Instead it is the process in which an organism obtains its energy. All living organisms perform cellular respiration, whether they are plants or animals.

Facts

Cells use the process of cellular respiration to release stored energy in food molecules, such as glucose. The process is the same for both plant and animal organisms.

Raw Materials

The raw materials for cellular respiration are glucose, oxygen and water. Plants produce their own glucose and recapture oxygen from the photosynthesis process. Animals ingest glucose by way of their food and breathe in oxygen. Both plants and animal use the water from their own bodies for cellular respiration.

Stages

Cellular respiration is divided into three distinct stages. The first stage, known as Glycosis, produces two pyruvates (organic acid) and a net total of 2 ATPs (adenosine triphophosphate). The next stage, known as the Krebs cycle, produces one ATP (adenosine triphophosphate) per pyruvate for a net total of two. The last stage, the electron transport chain, produces 34 ATPs.

ATP

The bonds between ATP atoms can store a lot of energy, and cells use this property to store energy. ATP is the primary source of energy for the cells of all plants and animals.

End Products

In addition to ATP, cellular respiration produces carbon dioxide and water. Both plant and animal cells reabsorb the water. Plants recapture the carbon dioxide for use in photosynthesis. Animals pass it as gas.

References

• Worsley School, Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration
• University of Cincinnati Clermont College, Cellular Respiration and Fermentation