NEWS The cell wall gives plants strength and structure, but contrary to what one might assume, it is not a rigid structure. Instead, it is highly dynamic and constantly interacts with the rest of the cell and the neighbouring cells as the plant grows. There are still many open questions about the nature of these interactions and this is what Laura Bacete Cano investigates in her project DYNAMO, recently funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
In the DYNAMO project, Laura Bacete Cano uses advanced microscopy to study how the structure and signalling of the cell wall influence plant development.
Image Mattias PetterssonFast growth and structural stability often pull in opposite directions. In agriculture, plants that grow quickly can become weak and prone to bending or collapsing. In forestry, rapid growth can reduce wood quality. Finding ways to combine speed and strength is therefore a long-standing goal in plant science with important implications for agriculture and forestry.
When we think of a wall, we imagine something rigid and inert: a city wall, the side of a house. But the plant cell wall is constantly changing
At the heart of this challenge lies the plant cell wall - a tough, flexible outer layer that surrounds every plant cell. The wall gives plants their shape, supports their growth, and forms materials from dietary fibers to wood used for construction. But it is not just a passive structure.
“When we think of a wall, we imagine something rigid and inert: a city wall, the side of a house. But the plant cell wall is constantly changing: it senses its own state, loosens and stiffens as the plant grows, and actively interacts with neighbouring cells,” says Laura Bacete Cano, who recently received an Emerging Investigator Grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation for her project DYNAMO.
As plant cells grow, their walls must loosen to allow expansion. At the same time, the walls also need to maintain enough strength to support the growing tissue. Plants therefore continuously adjust the properties of their cell walls as they develop.
We know that genes and hormones play a central role in controlling how plants grow. What DYNAMO asks is whether the wall itself is also part of that conversation.
The DYNAMO project explores how this process is regulated. The researchers propose that chemical and mechanical changes in the cell wall - meaning how stiff or flexible it is - act as signals. They describe the wall as a communication system, where structural changes are encoded, transmitted, and decoded into decisions about how the plant grows. In other words, the wall itself may tell the cell how to coordinate continued growth with mechanical support.
“We know that genes and hormones play a central role in controlling how plants grow,” says Laura Bacete Cano. “What DYNAMO asks is whether the wall itself is also part of that conversation: whether the chemical and mechanical changes in the wall are not just consequences of growth, but signals that actively help guide plant development.”
To test this idea, the team aims to identify early signals in the cell wall by modifying certain wall components. Preliminary results in the laboratory model Arabidopsis thaliana are already promising. Now, they want to continue and track how these signals spread between neighbouring cells, which is crucial for the plants to coordinate growth across tissues and maintain overall stability.
The researchers will also build computational models linking early wall properties to later developmental outcomes. These models will then be tested in hybrid aspen, a fast-growing tree species widely used in forestry research.
Beyond the fundamental science, the project could open new possibilities for plant breeding. By identifying structural and chemical changes in the cell wall linked to plant growth, the findings may eventually help breeders identify crop varieties and tree lines that combine speed and strength earlier and more reliably. This could save both time and resources in plant breeding. In the longer term, this could contribute to more productive and resilient crops and forests.
The project: DYNAMO - Dynamics of Mechanochemical Signals in Plant Cell Walls
