Speaker
Description
Plant development and adaptation are highly dependent on cell morphology and growth. High turgor pressure in plants causes stress on the cell wall, followed by cell extension. In tip-growing cells, the localization of vesicles and cytoskeleton components has been well studied. However, there has been a lack of attention to the spatial profile of mechanical properties, specifically the cell wall elasticity. Furthermore, the contributions of exocytosis and cell wall rearrangement to the morphogenesis of the cell are still not well understood. In this study, we first introduce a new surface morphology-based method to measure the elasticity of the cell wall in tip-growing cells. Through a parameter sensitivity study on simulated cells, we were able to verify a gradient of cell wall elasticity in tip-growing cells in the moss Physcomitrium patens. To explore the intricate dynamics of tip growth, we next developed a cell wall model tracking the dynamics of cell wall thickness, exocytosis, and cell wall remodeling. Especially since cell rupture can be caused by cell wall thinning, we aimed to understand the conditions that this might occur. Our system is a combined dynamical and mechanical system, where each cell growth step has contributions from the cell elastic deformation, and the actions of the cellular processes. All together, we present findings that will provide a more comprehensive view of tip-growing cell mechanics and help inform future experimental directions.
