Plant and algal cell walls hold key to sustainable materials revolution.
Plant cell walls are made up of three layers: middle lamella, primary cell wall, and secondary cell wall. These walls are held together by the middle lamella and contain cellulose, a major carbohydrate. Algal cell walls have diverse compositions with cellulose microfibrils and mannose or xylan-rich carbohydrates. Fungal cell walls are mainly composed of glucans, chitin, and glycoproteins.