Though plants, fungi, and prokaryotes all have cell walls, we place them in different taxa. Which of these observations comes closest to explaining the basis for placing these organisms in different taxa, well before relevant data from molecular systematics became available?

a. Some closely resemble animals, which lack cell walls.

b. Their call walls have very different biochemical properties.

c. Some have cell walls only for support

Question

Biology

Lindsay Guerra

25 December, 15:20

Though plants, fungi, and prokaryotes all have cell walls, we place them in different taxa. Which of these observations comes closest to explaining the basis for placing these organisms in different taxa, well before relevant data from molecular systematics became available?

a. Some closely resemble animals, which lack cell walls.

b. Their call walls have very different biochemical properties.

c. Some have cell walls only for support

+1

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Charlize Gardner · Answer 1

b. Their cell walls have very different biochemical properties.

Explanation:

Cellulose is a homopolysaccharide of glucose residues and is the main chemical component of the cell walls of the plant cells. The glucose residues in cellulose are linked together by beta 1-4 glycosidic bonds. Chitin is a linear homopolysaccharide of glucose residues and is the main structural component of the fungal cell wall. On the other hand, peptidoglycan is the major structural component of the bacterial cell walls. Peptidoglycan is a heteropolysaccharide of two different residues. These are N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid. Therefore, the chemical components and that make the cell walls in plants, fungi and bacteria differ significantly from each other imparting them distinct chemical features.