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Cellulose

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Biophysics

  • 380 Accesses

Synonyms

β-(1→4)-glucan

Introduction

Cellulose, the saccharide of cell walls, is the most prevalent biomolecule. Besides occurrence in plant and algal cell walls, this glucan is also found external to cells in bacterial pellicles and in tunicates, a marine animal. Most of the billions of tons (Pérez and Samain 2010) created each year decompose, but some is harvested. In humans, dietary cellulose is not digested, but cattle and termites rely, respectively, on bacteria and protozoa to make enzymes in their digestive systems that break cellulose into glucose, providing a source of energy.

Cellulose is used as a fiber and in the form of lumber. Fibers from various plants (cotton, kapok, milkweed) are seed hairs that are complete cells composed mostly of cellulose. Domestic cotton fibers are about 30 mm long and about 90% cellulose. Bast fibers – from under the outer bark of stems of plants such as flax (linen), jute, and ramie – are obtained initially in the form of “technical fibers.”...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Department of Agriculture, Southern Regional Research Center Agricultural Research Service, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Alfred D. French

Authors
  1. Alfred D. French
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Correspondence to Alfred D. French .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University Leicester MRC Centre, Leicester, United Kingdom

    Gordon Roberts

  2. Dept Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

    Anthony Watts

Section Editor information

  1. School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK

    Elizabeth Hounsell

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© 2018 European Biophysical Societies' Association (EBSA)

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French, A.D. (2018). Cellulose. In: Roberts, G., Watts, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Biophysics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35943-9_82-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35943-9_82-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-35943-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35943-9

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