Biology / Bio 0196 · Atom · ~20 seconds
Polysaccharides: Cellulose and Chitin
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Cellulose and chitin are structural polysaccharides, giving rigidity to a plant's cell wall and an insect's exoskeleton, respectively.
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Cellulose chains pack tightly enough to give a tree's cell walls strength; chitin gives a beetle's exoskeleton the same kind of rigidity.
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Most animal digestive enzymes cannot break the bonds holding cellulose together, which is why fiber passes through the human gut largely intact.