Plant Cells Like animal cells, plant cells contain organelles common to eukaryotic cells however also contain

n a large central vacuole, a cell wall and chloroplasts:

Cell wall outermost layer The cell wall is porous and freely permeable to water, ions, sugars and other essential nutrients The cell wall provides mechanical support and protects the cell from bursting In new plant cells, the cell wall is composed mainly of cellulose cellulose fibers are randomly arranged to allow for elasticity that allow for increase in size of the cell As plant cells mature, the arrangement of fibers becomes more closely packed and are laid down in a regular arrangement giving a rigidity to the cell wall pectin and sometimes lignin is added to the cell wall as it matures to strengthen it Adjacent cell walls have tiny pores called pits between them to allow exchange and sharing of cytoplasmic material, such as cytoplasmic fibers, Adjacent cells are interconnected by fine strands of cytoplasm known as plasmodesmata These strands of cytoplasm pass through pores in the cell walls and the middle lamellae Large Central Vacuole A fluid filled sac containing cell sap Cell sap is a concentrated solution of a variety of chemicals including sugars, mineral salts and enzymes The vacuole is bounded by a membrane called the tonoplast The vacuole functions as a storage region for the cell and plays a major role in controlling cell shape and volume as it can swell with water and push against the plasma membrane generating turgor pressure Chloroplast

 Large, oval-shaped membrane bound organelles Organelle in which photosynthesis takes place producing sugars and other organic nutrients for the cell