The cell wall is a non-living but strong component of the cell which provides support to the cell. Cell wall is the outer layer of a plant, bacteria or fungi cell covering the cell membrane. The structure and function of the cell wall allows the cell to survive external pressure.
Structure of cell wall
The structure of a cell wall is made up of a variety of components such as cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, chitin,or peptidoglycan. The plant cell wall is made up of cellulose and lignin, while bacterial and fungi cell walls contain peptidoglycan and chitin, respectively. The plant cell wall is made up of three layers: primary wall, secondary wall and middle lamella.
- Primary cell wall is the first or outer layer of the cell wall made up of cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin.
- Secondary cell wall contains lignin and makes the second or inner layer of the cell wall.
- Middle lamella is the outermost layer made up of pectin material present in between two adjacent cells and make pores called plasmodesmata.
- Plasmodesmata are the pores in the cell wall through which cytoplasmic material of adjacent cells are exchanged.
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| Structure of Cell Wall. Picture created in BioRender.com |
Function of cell wall
The functions of cell wall are as follow:
- Cell wall provides shape to the cell.
- It also strengthens the cell and protects it from external damages.
- It also provides support to the cell allowing the plants to stand tall without any external support.
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