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Related Concept Videos

Tonicity in Animals01:16

Tonicity in Animals

Tonicity describes the amount of solute in a solution. The measure of the tonicity of a solution, or the total amount of solutes dissolved in a specific amount of solution, is called its osmolarity. Three terms—hypotonic, isotonic, and hypertonic—are used to relate the osmolarity of a cell to the osmolarity of the extracellular fluid that contains the cells. In a hypotonic solution, such as tap water, the extracellular fluid has a lower concentration of solutes than the fluid inside the cell,...
Tonicity in Animals00:59

Tonicity in Animals

The tonicity of a solution determines if a cell gains or loses water in that solution. The tonicity depends on the permeability of the cell membrane for different solutes and the concentration of nonpenetrating solutes in the solution within and outside of the cell. If a semipermeable membrane hinders the passage of some solutes but allows water to follow its concentration gradient, water moves from the side with low osmolarity (i.e., less solute) to the side with higher osmolarity (i.e.,...
Tonicity in Plants00:53

Tonicity in Plants

Tonicity describes the capacity of a cell to lose or gain water. It depends on the quantity of solute that does not penetrate the membrane. Tonicity delimits the magnitude and direction of osmosis and results in three possible scenarios that alter the volume of a cell: hypertonicity, hypotonicity, and isotonicity. Due to differences in structure and physiology, tonicity of plant cells is different from that of animal cells in some scenarios.Plants and Hypotonic EnvironmentsUnlike animal cells,...
Tonicity in Plants01:20

Tonicity in Plants

Plant cells maintain appropriate osmotic balance in extreme conditions. For instance, plants in dry environments store water in vacuoles, limit the opening of their stoma, and have thick, waxy cuticles to prevent unnecessary water loss. Some species of plants that live in salty environments store salt in their roots. As a result, water osmosis occurs in the root from the surrounding soil.
Tonicity
Tonicity describes the capacity of a cell to lose or gain water depending on the solute...
The Apoplast and Symplast01:46

The Apoplast and Symplast

Plant growth depends on its ability to take up water and dissolved minerals from the soil. The root system of every plant is equipped with the necessary tissues to facilitate the entry of water and solutes. The plant tissues involved in the transport of water and minerals have two major compartments - the apoplast and the symplast. The apoplast includes everything outside the plasma membrane of living cells and consists of cell walls, extracellular spaces, xylem, phloem, and tracheids. The...
Plant Cell Wall01:07

Plant Cell Wall

Plant cells have a cell wall, a rigid outer covering that protects the cell and provides shape and support. During cell division, a mixture of enzymes, proteins, and glucose molecules is transported via vesicles to the center of the cell. These vesicles continuously fuse and build a cell plate between the dividing cells. As the cell plate matures, new polysaccharides are added to it to form the cell walls of the daughter cells. The predominant polysaccharide in the cell wall is cellulose, made...

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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Live Cell Imaging of Microtubule Cytoskeleton and Micromechanical Manipulation of the Arabidopsis Shoot Apical Meristem
07:52

Live Cell Imaging of Microtubule Cytoskeleton and Micromechanical Manipulation of the Arabidopsis Shoot Apical Meristem

Published on: May 23, 2020

Animal cell hydraulics.

Guillaume T Charras1, Timothy J Mitchison, L Mahadevan

  • 1London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London WC1H 0AH, UK.

Journal of Cell Science
|August 20, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cells act like fluid-infiltrated sponges, with water movement governed by physical, not chemical, processes. This sponge model explains cellular hydration dynamics crucial for cell physiology.

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AFM-based Mapping of the Elastic Properties of Cell Walls: at Tissue, Cellular, and Subcellular Resolutions
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Use of Atomic Force Microscopy to Measure Mechanical Properties and Turgor Pressure of Plant Cells and Plant Tissues
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Use of Atomic Force Microscopy to Measure Mechanical Properties and Turgor Pressure of Plant Cells and Plant Tissues

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AFM-based Mapping of the Elastic Properties of Cell Walls: at Tissue, Cellular, and Subcellular Resolutions
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Use of Atomic Force Microscopy to Measure Mechanical Properties and Turgor Pressure of Plant Cells and Plant Tissues
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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Physical Chemistry

Background:

  • Water is essential for cellular functions.
  • Cells are proposed to behave as fluid-infiltrated sponges.
  • Understanding water dynamics is key to cell physiology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate water movement and hydration gradients within animal cells.
  • To test the fluid-filled sponge model of the cell.
  • To differentiate physical from chemical cellular responses to osmotic stress.

Main Methods:

  • Applied external, inhomogeneous osmotic stress to cultured cancer cells.
  • Visualized internal hydration gradients using natural organelles and quantum dots.
  • Analyzed marker dynamics in normal and metabolically poisoned cells.

Main Results:

  • Observed an internal gradient in cellular hydration.
  • Cellular responses to osmotic stress were primarily physical.
  • Water flow was significantly retarded on physiological timescales (10-100 seconds).

Conclusions:

  • The fluid-filled sponge model accurately describes cellular water dynamics.
  • Cytoplasmic behavior is better explained by a sponge model than a continuum model.
  • This model offers a unified framework for cell morphology and motility.