Abstract
Plant cell walls provide stability and protection to plant cells. During growth and development the composition of cell walls changes, but provides enough strength to withstand the turgor of the cells. Hence, cell walls are highly flexible and diverse in nature. These characteristics are important during root growth, as plant roots consist of radial patterns of cells that have diverse functions and that are at different developmental stages along the growth axis. Young stem cell daughters undergo a series of rapid cell divisions, during which new cell walls are formed that are highly dynamic, and that support rapid anisotropic cell expansion. Once the cells have differentiated, the walls of specific cell types need to comply with and support different cell functions. For example, a newly formed root hair needs to be able to break through the surrounding soil, while endodermal cells modify their walls at distinct positions to form Casparian strips between them. Hence, the cell walls are modified and rebuilt while cells transit through different developmental stages. In addition, the cell walls of roots readjust to their environment to support growth and to maximize nutrient uptake. Many of these modifications are likely driven by different developmental and stress signaling pathways. However, our understanding of how such pathways affect cell wall modifications and what enzymes are involved remain largely unknown. In this review we aim to compile data linking cell wall content and re-modeling to developmental stages of root cells, and dissect how root cell walls respond to certain environmental changes.
Highlights
Cell Wall Heterogeneity in Root Development of ArabidopsisCell walls are highly flexible and diverse in nature
Plant roots of most plant species share a similar basic architecture. They are organized in a fixed radial pattern of different cell types that persist throughout the root and that already is established during embryogenesis (Huang and van Steveninck, 1990; Dolan et al, 1993; Feldman, 1994; Morita and Nemoto, 1995)
While the general components of the cell wall are largely known, it is clear that the walls of different cell types differ significantly, depending on tissue, developmental state and environment
Summary
Cell walls are highly flexible and diverse in nature These characteristics are important during root growth, as plant roots consist of radial patterns of cells that have diverse functions and that are at different developmental stages along the growth axis. Once the cells have differentiated, the walls of specific cell types need to comply with and support different cell functions. The cell walls are modified and rebuilt while cells transit through different developmental stages. The cell walls of roots readjust to their environment to support growth and to maximize nutrient uptake. Many of these modifications are likely driven by different developmental and stress signaling pathways.
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