Question

In a plant cell, the vacuole contains which of the following?
A. Water
B. Organic substances only
C. Inorganic substances only
D. All the above

Answer 1

Hint: Plant vacuoles are membrane-bound organelles that serve multiple purposes, such as providing structural support, storage, waste disposal, growth, and protection. These vacuoles have similar properties to the vacuoles of yeast and algae, and lysosome of animal cells.

Complete answer:
Plant cells typically have a single large vacuole that takes up 30-80% space within the cell. It holds both food for the cell to use, and waste so that it doesn’t contaminate the rest of the organelles.
Vacuole is surrounded by a semipermeable membrane called tonoplast which separates the cytoplasm from the vacuolar contents. This makes sure that the waste, and other products held in the vacuoles do not spill into the cytoplasm.
It contains a large amount of water that creates pressure on the tonoplast. The expansion in the size of the vacuole due to increased water content pushes the walls of the cell, which helps to maintain the structural integrity of the plant cell.
Since plant vacuoles also store food, it contains organic substances like proteins, organic acids, sugars, glycosides, etc., and inorganic substances like mineral salts.

In a plant cell, the vacuole contains water, organic and inorganic substances. So, the correct answer to this question is option ( D ). All the above.

Note: Some important points to remember related to vacuoles.
> Antonie van Leeuwenhoek discovered vacuoles in 1676 in bacteria.
> Felix Dujardin, in 1872, named these structures vacuoles.
> The name “vacuole” comes from “vacuum” because Dujardin thought it was empty space.
> The wastes contained in a plant vacuole are eventually broken down, so that they cannot harm the cell.