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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Mechanic State Of “Inner Tissue” In The Growing Zone Of Sunflower Hypocotyls And The Regulation Of Its Growth Rate Following Excision, Winfried Peters, A. Tomos May 2000

The Mechanic State Of “Inner Tissue” In The Growing Zone Of Sunflower Hypocotyls And The Regulation Of Its Growth Rate Following Excision, Winfried Peters, A. Tomos

Winfried S. Peters

Spontaneous growth of isolated inner tissue from the etiolated sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) hypocotyl growing zone was investigated. A new preparation technique allowed measurements starting 3 s after excision. Elongation with respect to the turgescent and plasmolized state was quantified in terms of relative growth rates, facilitating comparison to growth in situ. Turgor and turgor-induced strain were determined. Overall longitudinal strain in inner tissues in situ was positive, indicating that compressive forces exerted by peripheral tissues are outweighed by turgor-dependent tensile stress. Inner tissue expansion following isolation depended on water uptake. Extreme plastic extension rates occurred immediately after excision, …


What Makes Plants Different? Principles Of Extracellular Matrix Function In 'Soft' Plant Tissues [Review Article], Winfried Peters, Wolfgang Hagemann, A. Tomos Jan 2000

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 …