Plant Cell Walls

Abstract

Abstract The cell wall is the outer coat that provides a tough protective casing of the plant cell. Decades of research efforts have contributed to our current understanding of cell wall structure and function. The cell wall is composed primarily of three major classes of polysaccharide: cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin, as well as structural proteins, and phenolic and aliphatic polymers. In addition to structural roles, the cell wall has a multitude of important functions in plants. For example, cell wall expansion and its regulation is the basis of cell and plant growth, the cell wall gives plant cells their characteristic shapes, and it is strongly i..