What is the function of cellulose in plants?

Answer 1

cellulose is the prime component of cell walls, which is one of the key differences between plants and animals. The cell wall helps keep the plant upright and gives the plant structure since it doesn't have bone or muscle. Cellulose also forms a network that proteins can move along.

Answer 2

Cellulose is a polymer of Beta-D Glucopyranose (the beta simply means one of the OH groups in the molecule is oriented differently to another form, called alpha-D).

Glucopyranoses is just the correct name for glucose as we know it, becuase it is a ring stucture of 6 members, although only 5 of the 6 carbons present are found in the ring, the last found in a CH2OH side chain.

The actual function of cellulose in plants is primarily structural. It is the major component of cell walls and gives them strength and protection, although there is a certain amount of "give" in the thin sheets.

The reason it takes a good deal of osmotic pressure to burst a plant cell is because the cell wall prevents the plant cell from swelling too much - the cell may become turgid (full) but it generally wont burst like an animal cell will. If you put animal cells in distilled water, you can watch them under a microscope and see them swell and burst, but do the same thing to plant cells and they get a little fatter, but that's it.

Lignified cellulose forms wood. We all know how hard wood can be. The specific "hardness" of different woods is determined by it's proportions of lignified cellulose versus non-lignified. Cellulose is also use to form the "circulatory system" of vascular plants - water and nutrients travel along the xylem and phloem, these are tubes formed by the laying down of cellulose by certain cell types, the cells of which then die leaving a hollow structure.

In times of starvation (e.g. midwinter), when a plant has not enough energy stores in the form of starch (another glucose form) or glucose, many plants are also capable of breaking down their own cellulose for use as an energy source.

Answer 3

Cellulose gives the plant it's firmness. It helps with keeping the cell's shape in tact. So, the firmer the leaf, the more cellulose the plant has.