Difference Between Centrosome and Centriole
Table of Contents
Cells can be defined as the basic building blocks of multicellular organisms. Each cell contains one centrosome, and that centrosome contains two centrioles known as the daughter and the mother centriole. Both centrosome and centriole play a crucial role in the process of cell division.
Centrosome vs Centriole
The main difference between centrosome and centriole is their role in the cell division process. Centrosomes are responsible for the movement of chromosomes during the process of cell division. In comparison, centriole is accountable for forming the mitotic spindle, which further helps in chromosomes’ duplication process.
The centrosome is a cell organelle located inside the cytoplasm near the nucleus. It is present only in animal cells and not in plant cells. It is also known as the microtubule-organizing center ( MTOC) because it takes the help of proteins that forms microtubules. Which further forms the spindle thread.
Centrosome helps in cell division by providing the direction for the chromosome‘s movement while the process of cell division is taking place.
The centriole is a cell organelle that exists in a pair inside the centrosome. These are cylindrical and are extremely small. It helps in the formation of spindle threads that further helps in the process of duplication of chromosomes. Which then leads to cell division. It is present only in the animal cells and not in plant cells since plant cells do not have centrosomes.
Comparison Table Between Centrosome and Centriole
| Parameters of Comparison | Centrosome | Centriole |
| Definition | These are the cell organelles responsible for movement of chromosomes. | These are the cell organelles responsible for the formation of the mitotic spindle, which helps in the process of chromosome duplication. |
| Number | Each cell consist of only one centrosome. | Each centrosome is made up of two centrioles. |
| Structural difference | Have a simple structure but complex function. | Have a complex structure. |
| Size | Almost double the size of a centriole. | Approximately 250 nm in size. |
| Location | It is found in the cytoplasm near the nucleus. | It is located inside the centrosomes but can be found near the nucleus or the cell membrane. |
What is Centrosome?
A centrosome is a cell organelle that helps in the cell division process. It is located in the cytoplasm somewhere near the nucleus. Van Beneden first discovered it in 1876.
Centrosome plays a very crucial role in cell division. Before the division of the cell starts, the centrosome duplicates, so now there are two centrosomes. When the cell division starts, the two centrosomes starts moving towards the opposite sides of the cell.
The centrosome gets help from a protein that helps in the formation of additional microtubules. Further, these microtubules assemble into a spindle between the two duplicated centrosomes.
Which then further divides to form a daughter cell. And for this reason, the centrosome is also referred to as the microtubule-organizing center (MTOC).
Fundamentally centrosome controls the spindle assembly that helps in the movement direction of chromosomes. It also helps maintain the number of chromosomes during cell division and change the shape of the cell membrane during the division of cells. Centrosomes are only present in animal cells and not in plant cells.
What is Centriole?
The centriole is the cell organelles that exist inside a chromosome, next to the nucleus. Inside a centrosome, there are in total of two centrioles. These are made of microtubules. Centrioles are cylindrical in shape and have a tiny size of approx 250 nm.
Centrioles play a very crucial role in cell division. When the cells undergo division, these centrioles move towards the opposite side of the nucleus.
When the chromosomes are supposed to undergo mitosis, these centrioles create the area from where the mitotic spindle form. Then, these mitotic spindle gets attached to each chromosome and pull them towards the opposite ends of the cell, leading to the chromosome division.
In brief, centrioles are responsible for forming the mitotic spindle, and the mitotic spindle is responsible for chromosome division, which further leads to cell division.
Centrioles are only present in animal cells and not in plant cells due to the absence of centrosomes in them.
Main Differences Between Centrosome and Centriole
Conclusion
Centrosomes and centrioles are the critical parts of a cell that are present in multicellular organisms. Both of them have a critical role in the process of cell division. While a centrosome is present inside a cell near the nucleus, the centrioles exist in a pair inside the centrosome itself.
A centrosome is an essential part of the process of cell division. Initially, before the cell division process starts, a centrosome splits into two new centrosomes. Which then moves towards the opposite sides of the cell during the process of cell division.
These chromosomes get the help from proteins that are responsible for making microtubules. Which further forms spindle threads that lead to cell division. Due to this, it is also referred to as a microtubule-organizing center.
Centrioles, on the other hand, play a vital role in the cell division process by forming the mitotic spindle. When the chromosomes are supposed to go under mitosis, these centrioles starts creating the path that further comprises the mitotic spindle.
The mitotic spindle then helps in the duplication process of the chromosomes, which results in cell division. They are found in a cylindrical shape and have a size of approx 250 nm.
Both centrosome and centrioles are only present in animal cells and not in plant cells.
References
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