Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Cell Wall |
Cell WallNoun1. A thin membrane around the cytoplasm of a cell; controls passage of substances in and out of the cell. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
Medicine | The -- under normal conditions encloses and is in direct contact with the cytoplasmic membrane. . Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A cell wall is a more or less solid layer surrounding a cell. They are found in most bacteria, fungi, plants, and algae. Animals and most other protists have cell membranes without surrounding cell walls.
Plant cell walls
Plant cell walls have two main functions: to provide rigidity for the cell, and to prevent expansion when water enters the cell. Made of insoluble cellulose fibres meshed in to a matrix of carbohydrates called pectates and hemicelluloses, they give the plant strength and support. The cell wall is generally permeable to anything entering the cell in solution unless impregnated with lignin in wood or suberin in cork tissue to produce wood.The primary cell wall, built by the plant first, is composed of cellulose microfibrils aligned at all angles. Microfibrils are held together by hydrogen bonds to provide a high tensile strength. After the maximum size necessary has been reached, a secondary wall is constructed below. Unlike the primary wall, the microfibrils are aligned mostly in the same direction, and with each additional layer the orientation changes slightly.
Cell walls of neighbouring cells are held together by a shared gelatinous membrane called the middle lamella, which contains magnesium and calcium pectates (salts of pectic acid).
Bacterial cell walls
Cell walls of bacteria are primarily used for protection against hostile envorinments or, in the case of pathogenic bacteria, against the immune system of the host. They contain peptidoglycan, which can be made visible in Gram-positive bacteria by Gram staining. The cell walls of bacteria are also vital for containing the high osmotic pressure inside bacterial cells caused by the high concentration of solutes in the cytoplasm, which can often be as high as 15 atmospheres. Many antibiotics, including penicillin and its derivatives, target the cell wall of bacteria.
Fungal cell walls
The cell walls of fungal cells are composed of chitin, the same carbohydrate that gives strength to the exoskeletons of insects. They serve a similar purpose to those of plant cells, giving fungal cells rigidity and strength to hold their shapes.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Cell wall."
Synonyms: Cell WallSynonyms: cell membrane (n), plasma membrane (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Cell Wall |
| English words defined with "cell wall": action potential, apposition ♦ Cutin, Cystoplast ♦ Endogenous multiplication ♦ Gymnocyte, Gymnocytode ♦ intussusception ♦ Lignification ♦ Mineralization, mycoplasma ♦ Rejuvenescence ♦ Zona pellucida. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "cell wall": Ampicillin Resistance ♦ bordered pit, bound moisture, bound water ♦ Cefazolin, Cefonicid, Cell Wall Skeleton, combined moisture, combined water, cribriform membrane ♦ encrusting substance, Endotoxins ♦ fusiform body ♦ imbibed water, incrusting substance ♦ longitudinal wall, Lysostaphin ♦ microfibril ♦ N-Acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine Amidase ♦ Periplasm, pit membrane ♦ reticulate perforation plate ♦ schizo-lysigenous, spheroplast, Spheroplasts ♦ tail fiber, Thermoplasmales ♦ Vancomycin Resistance, vestured pit, vitelline membrane. (references) |
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Transmission electron micrograph of Candida species. CW - cell wall, PM - plasma membrane, M - mitochondria, V - vacuole, N - nucleus. Credit: CDC. |  | Illustration showing molecular architecture of cell wall of Candida albicans. Credit: CDC. |
 | B. anthracis Direct Fluorescent Antibody (DFA) cell wall stain, at a 1000x magnification. Credit: CDC. |  | T. pallidum bacteria, if present, will fluoresce when viewed with Direct Fluorescent Antibody stain (DFA) in the presence of Fluorescent Treponemal Antibodies (FTA) bound to the bacterium’s cell wall. Credit: CDC. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | M. tuberculosis, like other mycobacteria, has an unusual cell wall, a waxy coat comprised of fatty molecules whose structure and function are not well known. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
Expression using "cell wall": Cell Wall Skeleton. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
cell wall | 35 |
bacterial cell wall | 5 |
bacterium cell wall | 4 |
cell wall picture | 3 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "cell wall"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Danish | cellevaeg. (various references) | |
Dutch | celwand. (various references) | |
Finnish | soluseinä, solunseinä. (various references) | |
French | cloison, paroi cellulaire, paroi, membrane cellulaire. (various references) | |
German | zellwand (cell wand). (various references) | |
Greek | κυτταρική μεμβράνη. (various references) | |
Italian | membrana cellulare (cell membrane). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 細胞壁 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | さいぼうへき. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ellcay allway.(various references) | |
Portuguese | parede celular, membrana celular (cell membrane). (various references) | |
Spanish | parea celular, membrana de la célula, membrana celular. (various references) | |
Swedish | cellvägg. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-e-l-l-l-l-w" | |
-3 letters: cella. | |
-4 letters: alec, call, cell, claw, clew, lace, lall, leal, wale, wall, weal, well. | |
-5 letters: ace, ale, all, awe, awl, caw, cel, ell, lac, law, lea, wae. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
