The function and importance of vacuoles varies greatly according to the type of cell in which they are present, having much greater prominence in the cells of plants, fungi and certain protists than those of animals and bacteria. In general, the functions of the vacuole include:
-Isolating materials that might be harmful or a threat to the cell.
- Containing waste products.
- Containing water in plant cells.
- Maintaining internal hydrostatic pressure or turgor within the cell.
- Maintaining an acidic internal pH.
- Containing small molecules.
- Exporting unwanted substances from the cell.
- Allows plants to support structures such as leaves and flowers due to the pressure of the central vacuole.
- In seeds, stored proteins needed for germination are kept in 'protein bodies', which are modified vacuoles.
- storing foods (e.g., proteins in seeds)
- storing malic acid in CAM plants.
- storing various ions (e.g., calcium, sodium, iron