scholarly journals Mechanical feedback-loop regulation of morphogenesis in plants

Development ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (16) ◽  
pp. dev177964
Author(s):  
Arun Sampathkumar

ABSTRACTMorphogenesis is a highly controlled biological process that is crucial for organisms to develop cells and organs of a particular shape. Plants have the remarkable ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions, despite being sessile organisms with their cells affixed to each other by their cell wall. It is therefore evident that morphogenesis in plants requires the existence of robust sensing machineries at different scales. In this Review, I provide an overview on how mechanical forces are generated, sensed and transduced in plant cells. I then focus on how such forces regulate growth and form of plant cells and tissues.

1990 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 601 ◽  
Author(s):  
RE Williamson

Anisotropic mechanical forces exist in the walls of all turgid plant cells except those of spherical unicells. These forces potentially offer the cell important directional information regarding its major and minor axes, and the more complicated force patterns expected in multicellular organs could offer location-specific information. A mechanism is proposed to measure directional forces in the wall as deformations (strain) of molecules associated with cellulose microfibrils and transmit the information across the plasma membrane to orient cortical microtubules. Because microtubules in turn orient the synthesis of the cellulose microfibrils that determine the direction of future cell expansion, a feedback loop is established relating future cell shape to present cell shape and cell position. The loop can provide positive feedback to magnify a small asymmetry in shape, to reinforce an existing growth axis in a cylindrical cell or, by modification of the proteins postulated to convey directional information between wall and cytoplasm, the loop can be broken and the same directional information used to establish a new orientation for cortical microtubules. In this way, modification of a single protein replaces a transverse microtubule array with a helical one.


1993 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 637-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian-Kang Zhu ◽  
Jun Shi ◽  
Utpal Singh ◽  
Sarah E. Wyatt ◽  
Ray A. Bressan ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
pp. 227-238
Author(s):  
Brian Helmuth

Ectothermic organisms experience their local environments in ways that humans can have difficulty conceptualizing. Physics-based (ecomechanical) approaches, for example heat budget models, can lend insights into how an organism’s very local environmental conditions (microclimate) can drive niche-level conditions such as body temperature; these in turn drive physiological processes. Quantitative methods also allow insights into the temporal and spatial scales that may ultimately determine responses to larger-scale environmental change. For example, for small, sessile organisms, microhabitats such as crevices in rocks may provide microrefugia that allow survival during heat waves. As a result, larger-scale recovery following heat waves (rescue effects) may ultimately be influenced by much smaller-scale processes. Ecomechanics techniques also facilitate the use of interventions such as shading that can maintain environmental conditions within physiological tolerance levels.


1959 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 395 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Dainty ◽  
AB Hope

Measurements of ion exchange were made between isolated cell walls of Ohara australis and an external solution. Comparison between intact cells and cell walls showed that nearly all the easily exchangeable cations are located in the cell wall. The wall is hown to consist of "water free space" (W.F.S.) and "Donnan free space" (D.F.S.); the concentration of in diffusible anions in the D.F.S. is about O� 6 equivjl. This finding is contrary to past suggestions that the D.F.S. is in the cytoplasm of plant cells.


2011 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariusz Pietruszka ◽  
Sylwia Lewicka ◽  
Krystyna Pazurkiewicz-Kocot

The time-irreversible cell enlargement of plant cells at a constant temperature results from two independent physical processes, e.g. water absorption and cell wall yielding. In such a model cell growth starts with reduction in wall stress because of irreversible extension of the wall. The water absorption and physical expansion are spontaneous consequences of this initial modification of the cell wall (the juvenile cell vacuolate, takes up water and expands). In this model the irreversible aspect of growth arises from the extension of the cell wall. Such theory expressed quantitatively by time-dependent growth equation was elaborated by Lockhart in the 60's.The growth equation omit however a very important factor, namely the environmental temperature at which the plant cells grow. In this paper we put forward a simple phenomenological model which introduces into the growth equation the notion of temperature. Moreover, we introduce into the modified growth equation the possible influence of external growth stimulator or inhibitor (phytohormones or abiotic factors). In the presence of such external perturbations two possible theoretical solutions have been found: the linear reaction to the application of growth hormones/abiotic factors and the non-linear one. Both solutions reflect and predict two different experimental conditions, respectively (growth at constant or increasing concentration of stimulator/inhibitor). The non-linear solution reflects a common situation interesting from an environmental pollution point of view e.g. the influence of increasing (with time) concentration of toxins on plant growth. Having obtained temperature modified growth equations we can draw further qualitative and, especially, quantitative conclusions about the mechanical properties of the cell wall itself. This also concerns a new and interesting result obtained in our model: We have calculated the magnitude of the cell wall yielding coefficient (T) [m<sup>3</sup> J<sup>-1</sup>•s<sup>-1</sup>] in function of temperature which has acquired reasonable numerical value throughout.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (14) ◽  
pp. 3615-3648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir J Bidhendi ◽  
Anja Geitmann

Abstract The primary plant cell wall is a dynamically regulated composite material of multiple biopolymers that forms a scaffold enclosing the plant cells. The mechanochemical make-up of this polymer network regulates growth, morphogenesis, and stability at the cell and tissue scales. To understand the dynamics of cell wall mechanics, and how it correlates with cellular activities, several experimental frameworks have been deployed in recent years to quantify the mechanical properties of plant cells and tissues. Here we critically review the application of biomechanical tool sets pertinent to plant cell mechanics and outline some of their findings, relevance, and limitations. We also discuss methods that are less explored but hold great potential for the field, including multiscale in silico mechanical modeling that will enable a unified understanding of the mechanical behavior across the scales. Our overview reveals significant differences between the results of different mechanical testing techniques on plant material. Specifically, indentation techniques seem to consistently report lower values compared with tensile tests. Such differences may in part be due to inherent differences among the technical approaches and consequently the wall properties that they measure, and partly due to differences between experimental conditions.


mBio ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Mueller ◽  
Petra Anne Levin

ABSTRACT Single-celled organisms must adapt their physiology to persist and propagate across a wide range of environmental conditions. The growth and division of bacterial cells depend on continuous synthesis of an essential extracellular barrier: the peptidoglycan cell wall, a polysaccharide matrix that counteracts turgor pressure and confers cell shape. Unlike many other essential processes and structures within the bacterial cell, the peptidoglycan cell wall and its synthesis machinery reside at the cell surface and are thus uniquely vulnerable to the physicochemical environment and exogenous threats. In addition to the diversity of stressors endangering cell wall integrity, defects in peptidoglycan metabolism require rapid repair in order to prevent osmotic lysis, which can occur within minutes. Here, we review recent work that illuminates mechanisms that ensure robust peptidoglycan metabolism in response to persistent and acute environmental stress. Advances in our understanding of bacterial cell wall quality control promise to inform the development and use of antimicrobial agents that target the synthesis and remodeling of this essential macromolecule. IMPORTANCE Nearly all bacteria are encased in a peptidoglycan cell wall, an essential polysaccharide structure that protects the cell from osmotic rupture and reinforces cell shape. The integrity of this protective barrier must be maintained across the diversity of environmental conditions wherein bacteria replicate. However, at the cell surface, the cell wall and its synthesis machinery face unique challenges that threaten their integrity. Directly exposed to the extracellular environment, the peptidoglycan synthesis machinery encounters dynamic and extreme physicochemical conditions, which may impair enzymatic activity and critical protein-protein interactions. Biotic and abiotic stressors—including host defenses, cell wall active antibiotics, and predatory bacteria and phage—also jeopardize peptidoglycan integrity by introducing lesions, which must be rapidly repaired to prevent cell lysis. Here, we review recently discovered mechanisms that promote robust peptidoglycan synthesis during environmental and acute stress and highlight the opportunities and challenges for the development of cell wall active therapeutics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (48) ◽  
pp. eabc9294
Author(s):  
Qingqing Wu ◽  
Yue Li ◽  
Mohan Lyu ◽  
Yiwen Luo ◽  
Hui Shi ◽  
...  

How mechanical forces regulate plant growth is a fascinating and long-standing question. After germination underground, buried seedlings have to dynamically adjust their growth to respond to mechanical stimulation from soil barriers. Here, we designed a lid touch assay and used atomic force microscopy to investigate the mechanical responses of seedlings during soil emergence. Touching seedlings induced increases in cell wall stiffness and decreases in cell elongation, which were correlated with pectin degradation. We revealed that PGX3, which encodes a polygalacturonase, mediates touch-imposed alterations in the pectin matrix and the mechanics of morphogenesis. Furthermore, we found that ethylene signaling is activated by touch, and the transcription factor EIN3 directly associates with PGX3 promoter and is required for touch-repressed PGX3 expression. By uncovering the link between mechanical forces and cell wall remodeling established via the EIN3-PGX3 module, this work represents a key step in understanding the molecular framework of touch-induced morphological changes.


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