Turgidity is fundamental for plant cells to make them endure position standing. A cell in its fully bolstered condition is said to be turgid. It is a cellular phase in which a plant cell, having drowned water, is in a phase of tension. Thus, turgidity is the stale of a cell in which the cell wall is fully bolstered due to the absorption of water (endosmosis) up to the last deadline.
The water pressure inside plant cells is named turgor pressure, and it is maintained by a mechanism named osmosis. It is the phase of being turgid or swollen, especially due to a high fluid substance. Many cell categories in many dissimilar organisms can become turgid due to water uptake.
What Is Turgidity?
In biology, turgid refers to cells or tissues that are swollen from water uptake. Turgidity is the phase of being swollen or turgid, exclusively due to high fluid content. Turgidity is a cellular phase in which a plant cell, having absorbed water, is in a phase of tension. A turgid plant cell is a plant cell that has been filled with water as a conclusion of osmosis. The opposite phase of Turgidity is plasmolysis. Turgidity is mandatory for plant cells to make them keep placing upright. Plant cells that lose much water have less turgor pressure and tend to become flaccid.
In a more simple way, we can say that turgidity is the condition of being turgid or swollen, especially due to high fluid content. It is due to the entry, by osmosis, of a flow of water into the plant cell and its vacuole. Consistently, turgor pressure is caused by the osmotic flow of water and arises in plants, fungi, and bacteria.
The pressure created by this flow of water, or turgor pressure, rigidifies the spongy components of the plant (stems, leaves, petals). Turgidity is mandatory for plant cells to create them stay standing upright. Usually, these pressures counterbalance each other and a phase of equilibrium is controlled between them.
Plant cells that lose much water have less turgor pressure and tend to become flaccid. Additional water loss ultimately results in the wilting of the plant. Three factors affect the turgidity of a living cell. These are:
- a structure of osmotically active substances enveloped by the cell.
- a sufficient supply of water.
- a semi-permeable membrane.
Significance of Turgidity
- It assists in the faction of nutrient solutions from cell to cell. This is because of the dissimilarity in the absorption of the cell sap between one cell and the other
- Turgidity is needed for plant cells to make them keep their position standing. Plant cells that lose a lot of water have less turgor pressure and tend to become flaccid.
- It is fundamental for the development of dissimilar organs.
Plant turgidity
The cell wall is one of the major elements of a plant cell and it accounts for plant turgidity. The plant cell wall is another layer besieging the cell aside from the plasma membrane. It may be comprised of one or two layers. The initial cell wall is responsible for the secretion of the second layer that hailed the secondary cell wall above the plasma membrane.
Plant turgidity is a situation in plants wherein the cells are turgid due to turgor pressure, i.e. the pressure that is being generated by water inside the cell against the cell wall. One of the important aspects of a plant organism is its cell wall. A cell wall is another layer enveloping a cell.1, 2 The animals lack them and only have a cell membrane. Plants have both.
The cell wall is an added protective layer in the cells of the plant. It is a tough, rigid structure made up chiefly of cellulose, pectin, and hemicellulose. The cell wall of plants is comprised of one or two layers. The first layer is named the primary cell wall. This layer could construct another layer just beneath it.
The new layer is called the secondary cell wall. The second layer is a thick layer that accumulates lignin. The lignin helps waterproof the cell. These elements of the cell wall help the plant cell to resist osmotic pressure, i.e. the hydrostatic pressure constructed by a difference in the amounts of solutes between solutions split by a semipermeable membrane, such as the cell membrane, during osmosis.
Turgid cell
A plasmolyzed plant cell has gaps between the cell wall and the cell membrane. This appears when a plant cell is placed in a hypotonic solution. Water molecules move out of the cell coming from the loss of turgor pressure. A flaccid plant cell is not swollen and the cell membrane does not pressurize against the cell wall tightly. This appears when a plant cell is placed in an isotonic solution.
There would be no net migration of water molecules between the cell and the surrounding fluid. A turgid cell is a cell that has turgor pressure. A plant cell that is placed in a hypotonic solution would cause the water to move into the cell by osmosis, resulting in large turgor pressure being applied against the plant cell wall.
A turgid cell is a cell that has turgor pressure. The plant that sees healthy (i.e. not wilted) has cells that are turgid. The plant cell stores solutes (e.g. ions and sugars) (especially, inside its vacuole). Since the inside of the cell has a higher solute concentration (and therefore fewer water molecules) than the outside, the water favors moving in.
The solution (surrounding the cell) that has a lower solute concentration corresponding to what was inside the cell is described as hypotonic. A plant cell that is placed in a hypotonic solution would cause the water to move into the cell by osmosis. The emerging influx of water leads to a large turgor pressure being exerted against the plant cell wall. This makes the cell turgid. The presence of the cell wall in plants avoids the cell from bursting (osmotic lysis), which happens in a cell lacking a cell wall.
An animal cell, for instance, would swell in a hypotonic solution. However, if osmosis persists, it will eventually burst. Thus, the cell wall of the plant cell is necessary to stabilize the cell integrity and to prevent the cell from bursting. Excessive osmosis in a plant cell is avoided due to the osmotic pressure being exerted by the cell wall. However, the cell wall cannot protect the plant cell that has been displayed to an isotonic solution or a hypertonic solution. These solutions can cause the plant to lose its vigor and appears wilted.
Flaccid cell
An isotonic solution refers to a solution wherein the solute concentration is comparably the same as the solute concentration inside the cell. This indicates that there would be no net movement of water molecules between the two. A plant cell that is placed in an isotonic solution would become flaccid. This condition is called flaccidity.
A flaccid plant cell is not swollen and its cell membrane does not force against the cell wall tightly. Thus, the difference between turgidity and flaccidity lies in the turgor pressure. In turgidity, a plant cell appears swollen or distended from the turgor pressure put on the cell wall whereas in flaccidity the plant cell loses it and appears limp or flaccid.
Plasmolysed cell
A hypotonic solution is a solution wherein the solute concentration is higher than the solute concentration inside the cell. A plant cell in a hypotonic solution loses its turgor pressure as the water molecules tend to move out of the cell. The cell that has lost its turgor pressure is defined as plasmolyzed. A plasmolyzed plant cell is one in which there are gaps between the cell wall and the cell membrane.
Moreover, the cell arrived to have shrunk. The process or the condition in which the protoplasm shrinks as a result of water loss by osmosis is called plasmolysis. However, plasmolysis rarely appears in nature. Rather, it is induced in the laboratory where plant cells are immersed in strong saline or sugar solutions.
Importance Of Turgidity
- The closing and opening of Stomata are regulated by the turgidity of defender cells. Turgidity is very important for plants and bacteria. It also results in the bursting of a cell. It saves the plants from flaccid.
- Growth of cells: Cells enlarge in plume due to turgidity. It benefits the movement of nutrient solutions from cell to cell. This is because of the disparity in the alertness of the cell sap between one cell and the other.
- Dispersion of seeds or spores: Many fruits and sporangia swell up and split off by absorbing water finally seeds and spores are dispersed. It is necessary for the development of dissimilar organs.
- Giving mechanical support: The moat of the aquatic plants get rigidity only by turgidity. The water stress inside plant cells is called turgor pressure, and it is maintained by a procedure called osmosis. This is significant because it is what keeps the plant upright and rigid.
- Germination: Due to turgidity the embryo gets more rigidity and arrives out of the seed coat diming germination. It bolsters in the movement of nutrient solution from cell to cell. It is essential for the escalation of a dissimilar organ.
- It helps in the movement of nutrient solutions from cell to cell. This is because of the disparity in the concentration of the cell sap between one cell and the other. Without Turgor pressure; the plant will stop managing to establish up-right.
- It is mandatory for the growth of different organs. It bolsters in the movement of nutrient solutions from cell to cell. This is because of the dissimilarity in the concentration of the cell sap between one cell and the other.
Turgidity And Rigidity
As cited above respecting the turgidity meaning, turgidity refers to the phase of being turgid or swollen as the result of the fluid consisted of. Rigidity, in contrast, pertains to the phase of being rigid or tight and unbending. Both turgidity and rigidity are essential features of plants as they keep the plant to stay upright. And both of these aspects can be attributed to the turgor pressure up against the cell wall.
As explained above, the cell wall strengthens and prevents the cell from osmotic pressure that in excess could bring about osmotic lysis to cells without it. The cell wall also provides skeletal support by forming a thicker secondary layer containing lignin. Apart from that, the cell wall contains cellulose that renders it to become rigid and tough. In between the cell wall is another layer of pectin-rich intercellular material.
This layer is called the middle lamella. Its elementary function is to glue the adjacent cells together. All in all, these cellular features of the plant empower it to stay upright towards the source of light, against the gravitational pull.
Conclusion
Turgidity is very essential for plants. It helps in managing the plant rigid and upright. It also results in the replete of a cell. It saves the plants from wilting.
Turgidity is the phase of being turgid or swollen, especially due to high fluid content. In a general context, turgidity refers to the condition of being tumefied, distended, or swollen. In a biological background, turgidity maintains to explain how plant cells are able to stand upright despite the lack of a skeletal structural framework that animals have. Also, it confers rigidity to plants.
Thus, the distention of cells is a normal feature among plants. In fact, without it, the plant will look wilted and unwell. Turgidity in plants is made possible by the presence of the cell wall and the osmoregulatory function of the vacuole. The cell wall protects the cell from cell lysis due to high water influx while the vacuole regulates solute concentration to incite the osmotic movement of water into and out of the cell.