Question

Describe the similarities and differences between glycogen and starch

Short answer

The glycogen and starch are similar as both are polymers of glucose, while they differ in the type of structure and occurrence.

Step-by-step solution

Similarities

Glycogen and starch are similar in that they are both made up of many alpha glucose units joined together by the glycosidic bonds.

Differences

Glycogen has highly branched short chains with 1, 4 glycosidic bonds and 1,6 glycosidic bonds at the branching points, while starch has unbranched and coiled chains in amylose with 1, 4 glycosidic bonds, and in another polymer amylopectin with 1, 6 glycosidic bonds which has branched long chains.

Another difference is that glycogen is the main storage carbohydrate source of animals while starch is that of plants.