Onion epidermal cell Onion epidermal cell The epidermal cells of onions provide a protective layer against viruses and fungi that may harm the sensitive tissues. Because of their simple structure and transparency they are often used to introduce students to plant anatomy or to demonstrate plasmolysis. The clear epidermal cells exist in a single layer and do not contain chloroplasts, because the onion fruiting body (bulb) is used for storing energy, not photosynthesis. Each plant cell has a cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, and a large vacuole. The nucleus is present at the periphery of the cytoplasm. The vacuole is prominent and
Cell-based models Cell-based models Cell-based models are mathematical models that represent biological cells as a discrete entities. They are used in the field of computational biology for simulating the biomechanics of multicellular structures such as tissues. Their main advantage is the easy integration of cell level processes such as cell division, intracellular processes and single-cell variability within a cell population. Cell-based models can be divided into on- and off-lattice models. On-lattice models such as cellular automata or cellular potts restrict the spatial arrangement of the cells to a fixed grid. The mechanical interactions are then carried out according to literature-based rules (cellular