Ohutseinäiset

Ohutseinäiset is a Finnish term meaning thin-walled, used as a descriptive label in biology to refer to cells or organisms whose cell walls are relatively thin compared with other types. It is not a taxonomic group, but a qualitative property that appears in different contexts, such as microbiology and botany.

In microbiology, ohutseinäiset cells typically describe bacteria with a thin peptidoglycan layer and often an outer membrane, i.e., Gram-negative bacteria. The thin wall, together with the outer membrane, influences properties such as permeability and antibiotic susceptibility, and it is responsible for the characteristic Gram stain reaction, where Gram-negative bacteria stain pink after counterstaining.

In botany and plant anatomy, ohutseinäiset cells refer to cells with a thin primary cell wall, such as parenchyma cells. Such walls are flexible and support metabolic activities and growth, whereas thick-walled tissues like sclerenchyma provide structural support.

The thickness of cell walls varies with tissue, developmental stage, and environmental conditions. The term ohutseinäiset should be used descriptively and, when relevant, complemented with details about wall composition, tissue type, or imaging methods to provide a fuller understanding of the cell’s structure and function.