Intercellular separation forces generated by intracellular pressure

Abstract

Turgor pressure tends to force plant cells towards a spherical form, thus separating them at the angles from adjacent cells. In cooked vegetables containing starch, the swelling pressure of starch gelatinization generates analogous cell separation forces. A theoretical analysis of the relationship between internal pressure and cell separation forces is presented. Apart from the effect of internal pressure, cell separation forces increase with the diameter of the cell and decrease with the number of cell sides. Cell separation forces are reduced by the introduction of intercellular spaces and decrease further as these expand. The relationship between intracellular pressure and cell separation forces provides a basis upon which the strength of intercellular adhesion can be measured by experiment.