Plant cell adhesion and growth on artificial fibrous scaffolds as an in vitro model for plant development.

Ryan Calcutt,Ram Dixit,Derrick Dean,Richard Vincent,Treena Livingston Arinzeh

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abj1469

Abstract

Mechanistic studies of plant development would benefit from an in vitro model that mimics the endogenous physical interactions between cells and their microenvironment. Here, we present artificial scaffolds to which both solid- and liquid-cultured tobacco BY-2 cells adhere without perturbing cell morphology, division, and cortical microtubule organization. Scaffolds consisting of polyvinylidene tri-fluoroethylene (PVDF-TrFE) were prepared to mimic the cell wall’s fibrillar structure and its relative hydrophobicity and piezoelectric property. We found that cells adhered best to scaffolds consisting of nanosized aligned fibers. In addition, poling of PVDF-TrFE, which orients the fiber dipoles and renders the scaffold more piezoelectric, increased cell adhesion. Enzymatic treatments revealed that the plant cell wall polysaccharide, pectin, is largely responsible for cell adhesion to scaffolds, analogous to pectin-mediated cell adhesion in plant tissues. Together, this work establishes the first plant biomimetic scaffolds that will enable studies of how cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions affect plant developmental pathways.

Highlights

Development of multicellular organisms involves generating different cell types at specific locations within tissues and organs
We show that cultured tobacco Bright Yellow-2 (BY-2) cells adhere tightly to these scaffolds without adversely affecting their growth, morphology, and division and that the cell-scaffold adhesion involves pectin
The plant cell wall consists of fibers that vary in dimension and alignment [33, 34]

Summary

Introduction

Development of multicellular organisms involves generating different cell types at specific locations within tissues and organs. In both plants and animals, cell lineage and positional information play a critical role in cell-fate control and tissue patterning [1,2,3]. Substrates play a critical and active role in organoid formation by providing the necessary biochemical and mechanical cues that guide cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Ideal substrates mimic the physical and chemical properties of endogenous tissues to form durable and physiologically accurate organoids. Altering the material properties of substrates provides nuanced control of the physical and biochemical microenvironment to probe mechanisms underlying the development and physiology of organoids [16, 17]

Methods

Results

Conclusion