Plant cell wall growth is typically described as a simple process, but researchers using a microscope that can resolve images on the nanoscale level have observed something more complex. A close-up ...

Plant cells are surrounded by an intricately structured protective coat called the cell wall. It’s built of cellulose microfibrils intertwined with polysaccharides like hemicellulose or pectin. We ...

Imagine if our bodies could grow new organs throughout our entire lives. Plants do this constantly, thanks to tiny, powerful reservoirs of stem cells. But how do these cells know when to divide, and ...

From plant stems to bacterial shells, cell walls are far more than rigid barriers—they’re living, adapting structures.

Banding patterns of cellulose increase the stability of plant cell walls, much like the corrugated patterns in cardboard. Penn State biologists developed a method to isolate plant cells and observe ...

How cells sense their physical state and compensate for cell wall damage is poorly understood. But a new analysis of plants exposed to salt stress offers the first experimental evidence and molecular ...