Distinguish between Unicellular & Multicellular organism

 Difference Between Unicellular And Multicellular Organisms

As stated initially, one major difference between unicellular and multicellular organisms is the cellularity or the number of cells. Read on the explore more differences between the two:

Unicellular Organisms	Multicellular Organisms
Unicellular organisms are composed of a single cell	Multicellular organisms are composed of more than one cell
Simple body organization	Complex body organization
A single cell carries out all necessary life processes	Multiple cells perform different functions
The total cell body is exposed to the environment	Only the outer cells are exposed to the environment
Division of labour is at the organelle level	Division of labour is at cellular, tissue, organs and organ system level
Includes both eukaryotes and prokaryotes	Includes only eukaryotes
A lifespan of a unicellular organism is usually short	Multicellular organisms have a comparatively longer lifespan
Injury to the cell leads to the death of the organism	Injury to a cell does not cause the death of the multicellular organism
Asexual reproduction is predominant, however, sexual reproduction is also seen (conjugation)	Reproduction happens sexually as well as asexually
Cell differentiation is absent	Cell differentiation is present
They can be autotrophs or heterotrophs	They include both autotrophs and heterotrophs
They are microscopic in nature	Most are macroscopic in nature
Bacteria, amoeba, paramecium, and yeast are examples of unicellular organisms	Humans, animals, plants, birds and insects, are examples of multicellular organisms