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A plant cell wall’s unique ability to expand without weakening or breaking is due the movement of its cellulose skeleton, according to new research by Penn State biologists that models the cell wall. Chains of cellulose bundle together within the cell wall, providing strength, and slide against each other when the cell is stretched, providing extensibility.
Loading video... VIDEO: As the modeled plant cell wall stretches, the network of components within the cell walls--including cellulose (purple), xyloglucan (green), and pectin (yellow)--dynamically rearranges itself. The movements by the cellulose provided... view more Credit: Cosgrove Lab, Penn State UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- 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, according to new research that models the cell wall. The new model, created by Penn State researchers...