Why are bacterial cell walls important?

The bacterial cell wall performs these critical functions: 

• Provides overall strength to the cell 
• Helps the cell maintain its shape, which is essential for optimum growth, movement, and reproduction 
• Protects the cell from osmotic lysis as the cell moves about among different environments
• Keeps out molecules that may be toxic to the organism
• Contributes to the pathogenicity (disease causing ability) of bacterial cells