<< A plant cell wall's unique ability to expand without weakening or breaking -- a quality required for plant growth -- is due to the movement of its cellulose skeleton >>️
<< The new model, (..) reveals that chains of cellulose bundle together within the cell wall, providing strength, and slide against each other when the cell is stretched, providing extensibility. >>
<< The new study, (..) presents a new concept of the plant cell wall, gives insights into plant cell growth, and could provide inspiration for the design of polymeric materials with new properties. >>
<< For a long time, the prevailing concept of a plant cell wall has been that of a gel that is reinforced by cellulose fibers, with the stiff cellulose rods acting like steel rebar in cement, (..) However, we determined that cellulose chains instead stick to each other to form a network of cellulose bundles, which provides a lot more mechanical strength than disconnected rods floating in a gel. And it's the cellulose chains, rather than other components, that limit cell wall expansion, sliding alongside each other like an extension ladder when the cell is stretched. >> Daniel Cosgrove. ️
️
What makes plant cell walls both strong and extensible? Penn State. May 13, 2021.
Yao Zhang, Jingyi Yu, et al. Molecular insights into the complex mechanics of plant epidermal cell walls. Science.
Vol. 372, Issue 6543, pp. 706-711
doi: 10.1126/ science.abf2824. May 14, 2021.
