The Plant Cell Walls and Their Impact on Plant Physiology

Dear Colleagues,

The plant cell wall is an extracellular compartment surrounding cells that play critical roles in plant life like providing an external skeleton, protection against external clues, or a means for cell-to-cell communication. It is a composite structure comprising polymers like polysaccharides (cellulose, pectins, and hemicelluloses), lignin in lignified secondary walls, cell wall proteins, and ions. The pectins and hemicelluloses are two polysaccharide families that contain a large collection of molecules differing by their content in monosaccharides and the type of linkages between them. Since the plant body contains different cell types, the structure and the composition of their walls are diverse, thus, allowing them to fulfill their functions and to respond to environmental constraints. Moreover, the composition of the plant cell wall varies, depending on the plant family and this is well illustrated by the differences between the walls of Poaceae and those of dicotyledonous plants. Altogether, each cell is surrounded by a specific wall that biogenesis requires a whole cascade of finely-tuned regulatory mechanisms, from the regulation of the transcription of the genes encoding the biosynthesis of the elementary bricks to the regulation of the assembly of the supramolecular structure and the modifications of the cell wall architecture during growth and upon interactions with the biotic and abiotic environment.

This Topical Collection of IJMS will gather articles dealing with plant cell wall biology. It will welcome experimental articles, review articles, or commentaries.

Prof. Dr. Christophe Dunand
Collection Editor

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