Vacuole
By Yosuke, Mathew, and Jenny
Vesicle
Vacuole is a type of vesicle.
 A vesicle is a small bubble enclosed by a
lipid bilayer.

What is vacuole?

Vacuoles plays role in intracellular
digestion and release of cellular waste
products.
What are the function of vacuole?
Isolating materials that might be harmful or a threat to
the cell.
 Containing waste products, small molecules and
water(in the plant cells).
 Maintaining internal turgor pressure within the cell
which can help to shape and buoyancy(the force that
make an object rise or move upward) for plant cells
 Maintaining an acidic internal pH
 Exporting unwanted substances from the cell
 Allows plants to support structures such as leaves and
flowers due to the pressure of the central vacuole
 In seeds, stored proteins needed for germination are
kept in 'protein bodies', which are modified vacuoles

What is inside the vacuole?
Waste products (water, carbon dioxide,
some acids…)
 Nutrients
 Energy products

Where is the vacuole located ?
Vacuoles are found in the cytoplasm of plant and animal
cells.
 There is no specific place that the vacuole located in
either animal cell or plant cell.
 In a plant cell, one large vacuole accounts for most the
area in the cell.
 Animal cells can have multiple smaller vacuoles.

Plant Cell
Animal Cell
Bacteria vacuoles
Most prokaryotic cells do not have
vacuoles however there are some
exceptions.
 Large vacuoles are found in three genera
of sulfur bacteria, the Thioploca, Beggiatoa
and Thiomargarita.
 The vacuole can occupy between 40–98%
of the cell. The vacuole contains high
concentrations of nitrate ions and is
thought to be a storage organelle.

Fungi vacuoles

Vacuoles in fungus have similar functions
as those in plant cells.
Vacuole in plant cells

Vacuole tends to be large in the plants
cell. It can regulates turgor pressure and
create rigidity which will help to increase
cell size during growth.
Vacuoles in animal cell

The vacuole in an animal cell is much
smaller than in a plant cell. It is used to
remove things from the cell including
lipids, proteins and waste products.
Plant vacuole VS Animal vacuole
Plant
Animal
Size
Big
Small
Amount
Usually one
More than one, varies
Turgor Pressure
In plant cells,Vacuoles help control the
turgor pressure.
 Turgor pressure manages the rigidity of
the cell.
 When a plant receives water, the central
vacuole swells which creates a high turgor
pressure and helps the plant stay upright.
When the plant does not get enough
water, the vacuoles shrivel and the plant
wilts. The turgor pressure has decreased.

Examples
Q: why fruits are usually sweet?
A: because vacuoles keep nutrients, that’s
why the fruit is sweet.
 Q: why plants look colorful?
A: because vacuoles keep the waste
products, that’s why plants have various
colors.

What will happen if vacuole is not in
the cell?
The plant cells will wilt without sufficient
water, turgor pressure drop. Which
vacuole store those things.
 It doesn’t really matter if there is vacuole
in animals cell because in animal cells
there is no cell wall so almost all the small
waste products can go through the cell
membrane by themselves.

Five facts





1) Plant cells usually have one big vacuole
while animal cells usually have multiple small
vacuoles.
2) Vacuoles help store things for the cell
such as energy and waste.
3) Vacuoles help the structure of plants using
turgor pressure.
4) The vacuole is a type of vesicle.
5) Prokaryotic cells generally do not have
vacuoles except in some sulfurous bacteria.