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IMAGE: Visualization of cell walls of the plant vascular system, which wind around the cells in filigree band and spiral patterns. view more
Credit: MPI-MP/ René Schneider
Trees are by far the tallest organisms on Earth. Height growth is made possible by a specialized vascular system that conducts water from the roots to the leaves with high efficiency, while simultaneously providing stability. The so-called xylem, also known as wood, is a network of hollow cells with extremely strong cell walls that reinforce the cells against the mechanical conflicts arising from growing tall. These walls wrap around the cells in filigree band and spiral patterns. So far, it is only partly known, how these patterns are created. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology in Golm/Potsdam and from Wageningen University and their colleagues study the formation of such reinforced and patterned cell walls.