Differences between unicellular and multicellular organisms

March 16, 2018

S.N	Unicellular organisms	Multicellular organisms
1.	Made up of single cell.	Made up of several cells.
2.	There is no division of labour.	There is division of labour.
3.	Comparatively larger in size.	Smaller in size.
4.	Unable to exhibit wide range of different functions.	More efficient and carries out a number of activities.
5.	Do not contain membrane bound cell organelles.	Contain membrane bound cell organelles.
6.	Life span is short comparatively.	Life span is long comparatively.
7.	Easily susceptible to damage.	Have better adaptability capacity.
8.	Any injury to cell can cause death of cell.	Death of few hundreds to thousands cells does not affect much.
9.	Cell surface is responsible for various life processes like respiration, excretion, etc.	Separate systems are there to conduct various life processes.
10.	Growth is due to growth in cell.	Growth is due to multiplication of cells.
11.	Only visible under microscope.	Most are visible to naked eyes.
12.	Binary fission is mode of asexual reproduction.	Mitosis is mode of asexual reproduction.
13.	Conjugation is mode of sexual reproduction.	Production of gametes is responsible for sexual reproduction.
14.	The cell body is exposed to environment on all sides.	Only outer cells are specialized to face the environment.
15.	Power of division is not lost.	Power of division is lost in some specialized cells.
16.	Prokaryotic in nature.	Eukaryotic in nature.
17.	Have well-marked capacity of regeneration.	Capacity of regeneration decreases with increasing specialization.
18.	Examples: Paramecium, Amoeba, Chlamydomonas, etc	Examples: animals and plants.