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What Makes Plants Different? Principles Of Extracellular Matrix Function In 'Soft' Plant Tissues [Review Article], Winfried Peters, Wolfgang Hagemann, A. Tomos
What Makes Plants Different? Principles Of Extracellular Matrix Function In 'Soft' Plant Tissues [Review Article], Winfried Peters, Wolfgang Hagemann, A. Tomos
Winfried S. Peters
An overview of the biomechanic and morphogenetic function of the plant extracellular matrix (ECM) in its primary state is given. ECMs can play a pivotal role in cellular osmo- and volume-regulation, if they enclose the cell hermetically and constrain hydrostatic pressure evoked by osmotic gradients between the cell and its environment. From an engineering viewpoint, such cell walls turn cells into hydraulic machines, which establishes a crucial functional differences between cell walls and other cellular surface structures. Examples of such hydraulic machineries are discussed. The function of cell walls in the control of pressure, volume, and shape establishes constructional evolutionary …