Innovative Sciences Ushering in a New Era

Imagine clothing that not only adapts to your needs but also senses your environment. Picture a self-sustaining habitat within lunar lava tunnels, crafted by bacteria, plants, and fungi. Envision structures that literally grow from living organisms. These groundbreaking ideas could define our future as Cornell scientists strive to engineer plants into biodegradable, useful forms.

Unlocking the Secrets of Plant Cell Walls

Before we can make that leap, understanding the underlying mechanics of how cell walls control plant growth is crucial. A recent study focusing on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana takes a significant step in this direction. By merging the disciplines of plant biology and mechanical engineering, the study explores critical mechanical properties of cell walls—how they stretch, rebound, and thin out when extended. This exciting research was published in *Nature Communications* on August 14.

Lead author Si Chen, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Engineered Living Materials Institute (ELMI), emphasizes the potential: "By understanding cell wall mechanics related to plant development, we may one day engineer plants to grow materials with desired shapes and sizes, such as biodegradable packaging that forms directly from the plants themselves."

Diving Deep into Plant Growth

The ELMI, which was established only three years ago, brings together biologists, engineers, and architects to innovate functional and sustainable materials sourced from plants and other living organisms like fungi and bacteria.

The paper primarily examines the primary cell walls responsible for plant growth, as opposed to secondary walls that solidify once growth halts. This focus on primary cell wall mechanics is crucial for future applications.

Pioneering Experimental Techniques

Chen has introduced experimental designs to determine the amount of force needed to stretch these cell walls and how much they thin as they extend. Professor Adrienne Roeder, a senior author of the study, added, "If we can engineer plants to alter their shape during growth before creating the secondary cell wall, we could produce structures that are sturdy yet still part of the plant’s outer layer."

Mapping Mechanical Properties Over Time

The study also investigates how mechanical properties evolve as leaves grow rapidly, as opposed to when growth slows or completely ceases. Moreover, it examines a mutant version of Arabidopsis known as spiral 2, which twists as it develops. This allows researchers to observe the unique properties of how the cell wall material is laid down during growth.

To further explore these mechanical behaviors, Chen created a simple model using five beams—representing cellulose fibers—connected in a diamond configuration. This model effectively demonstrates how beam behaviors like bending, stretching, and realignment, alongside their connections, dictate the overall mechanical response of the cell wall.

A Glimpse into the Future

Roeder points out the significance of the connections between these beams, stating, "It’s these connection points that will be crucial for engineering materials in the future." With a collaborative team that includes experts from various fields, this groundbreaking study is paving the way for a sustainable future, where plants may soon be key players in material innovation.

The insights gained from this research also highlight the potential for funding support, as it was backed by ELMI, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and Chen’s Postdoctoral Fellowship.