Mechanical modeling and structural analysis of the primary plant cell wall

Plant cell growth is a fundamental process during plant development whose spatial and temporal dynamics are controlled by the cell wall. Modeling mechanical aspects of cell growth therefore requires the integration of structural cell wall details with quantitative biophysical parameters. Recent advances in microscopic techniques and mechanical modeling have made significant contributions to the field of cell wall biomechanics. Live observation of cellulose microfibrils at high z-resolution now enables determining the dynamic orientation of these polymers in the different wall layers of growing cells. Mechanical modeling approaches have been developed to operate at the scale of individual molecules and will thus be able to exploit the availability of the high-resolution structural data. The combination of these techniques has the potential to make a significant and quantitative contribution to our understanding of plant growth and development.

Research highlights▶ The mechanical properties of the primary cell wall control plant cell growth and morphogenesis. ▶ Cellulose microfibril orientation and reorientation can now be observed live and at high z-resolution. ▶ Modeling approaches have been developed that can exploit new high-resolution data about cell wall structure in growing cells.