Question

Do you think that fungal cells have turgor pressure? Design an experiment to test your hypothesis.

Answer 1

Answer

Turgor pressure refers to the pressure exerted by the cell membrane against the cell wall, Hence turgor pressure is only observed in cells containing both cell walls and cell membranes. Ex- Plant cells. In the case of plants, high turgidity is observed in epidermal cells. in the root tips, in pollen tubes. Turgor pressure in plants is maintained by the process of osmosis through a semipermeable membrane such as a cell wall. In osmosis, the solvent flows from a region of low solute concentration to a region of high solute concentration till the difference in concentration disappear. When plant cells are placed in a hypotonic solution, water moves from outside to inside the cell and the cell swells up. The cell membrane then exerts the turgor pressure on the cell wall to maintain proper rigidity. In the absence of proper turgor pressure, the cells may wilt or become flaccid.

Yes. I believe fungal cells also have turgor pressure. In order to prove this, three types of cells should be taken.

(A) A fungal cell (the experimental sample)

(B) A cell from the tip of the root that is known to have turgor pressure (positive control)

(C) An animal cell, for ex, human skin cell that is known to not contain turgor pressue (negative control)

Now the three cells should be placed in hypotonic solution. Each cell type should be observed before and after placing them in hypotonic solution.

The plant cell will look rigid and turgid without any disruption, the human skin cell should rupture due to the absence of a cell wall and absence of turgor pressure. If the fungal cell wall remains intact and turgid, similar to the plant cell, we may conclude that it possesses turgor pressure.