Carbohydrates serve two major purposes. These purposes are
energy and structure.
Which type of carbohydrate is found in plant cell walls and is responsible in part for the strength of these walls?
cellulose
Mammals lack cellulases and cannot digest cellulose without the help of symbiotic bacteria that produce cellulase for them. Why can’t amylase, an enzyme that digests starch, effectively digest cellulose?
The shape of the cellulose makes it less accessible to digestive enzymes.
4 of 5 True or false?
Cellulose is composed of a chain of beta
glucose molecules, and starch is composed of a chain of alpha-glucose molecules.
true
Chitin is a structural carbohydrate found in
arthropods and fungi.
Cellulose is a
polysaccharide found in the cell walls of plant cells
Several other structural polysaccharides include
hemicellulose, pectin, and chitin.
Starch is also a polymer of 1-4
glycosidic linkages
The two forms differ by the position of the
hydroxyl group
on the first carbon.
Hemicellulose and pectin are polysaccharides that act like
glue to hold the cellulose together in cell walls.