Cell Wall

1. Cell Wall By: Kelley Healey

2. Characteristics • Primary found in plants • Made from a specialized sugar called cellulose • Rigid extracellular layer • Limits the amount of large molecules to enter the cell • Helps retain water • Hold and maintains the cells shape

3. Functions • Help maintain shape • Perform intercellular communication • Providing a defensive coat • Carbohydrate storage • Prevents the cell membrane from bursting • Controls the rate and direction of cell growth

4. Cell Wall vs. Cell Membrane • Cell membrane is a found almost in all cells and is a semi permeable which allows certain substances to pass though. • The cell wall however is only found in bacteria, fungi, algae, and most common in plants and is completely permeable. 1.Cell wall is found in plant cell and cell membrane is found in animal cells.2.Cell membrane is covered by the cell wall which forms the outer most covering.3.Cell wall is completely permeable whereas cell membrane is semi-permeable.4.Cell wall is made up of cellulose and cell membrane is made up of lipids and proteins.

5. Diseases • Humans do NOT have a cell wall but bacteria do, so when fighting a cold the best way to kill the bacteria is by interrupting cell wall synthesis, because this would kill the bacteria, but not harm the human host. The problem with some bacteria is when this occurs, it destroys the cell wall but not the entirely of the cell. This allows the cell to sometimes take the shape of the cell membrane, which then makes it almost invisible to the host. Which then makes antibiotics useless and an uncontrollable growth of bacteria.