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As in land plants, the major carbohydrate storage product of the green algae is usually starch in the form of amylose or amylopectin. These starches are polysaccharides in which the monomer, or fundamental unit, is glucose. Green algal starch comprises more than 1,000 sugar molecules, joined by alpha linkages between the number 1 and number 4 carbon atoms. The cell walls of many, but not all, algae contain cellulose. Cellulose is formed from similar glucose molecules but with beta linkages between the number 1 and 4 carbons. The Cryptophyceae also store amylose and amylopectin. These starches are stored outside the ...(100 of 8724 words)