Zeitschrift für Phylogenetik und Evolutionsbiologie

Pectin Phase Separation: A Key Mechanism Shaping Plant Cell Wall Architecture and Growth

Abstract

Martina Elite*

An increasing corpus of research contends that many biological processes are driven by phase separation occurring within polymer mixtures. Many different roles in cellular metabolism, gene regulation, and signalling are assumed to be played by the development of membrane-less organelles by liquid-liquid phase separation. One of these systems' traits is that it is poised at the edge of a phase transition, which makes it ideal for inducing strong cellular reactions to frequently extremely little changes in the cell's “environment.” Recent research suggests that phase separation may be a driving force for cell wall expansion in the semisolid environment of plant cell walls, as well as a factor in wall patterning, hydration, and stress relaxation during growth.