Major improvements in crop yield are needed to keep pace with population growth and
climate change. While plant breeding efforts have greatly benefited from advances in …

The final step of lignin biosynthesis is the polymerization of monolignols in apoplastic cell
wall domains. In this process, monolignols secreted by lignifying cells, or occasionally …

Climate change is a defining challenge of the 21st century, and this decade is a critical time
for action to mitigate the worst effects on human populations and ecosystems. Plant science …

INTRODUCTION All living organisms have evolved homeostatic mechanisms to control their
mineral nutrient and trace element content (ionomes). In plant roots and animal guts, these …

Plant salt-stress response involves complex physiological processes. Previous studies have
shown that some factors promote salt tolerance only under high transpiring condition, thus …

Functionally similar to the tight junctions present in animal guts, plant roots have evolved a
lignified Casparian strip as an extracellular diffusion barrier in the endodermis to seal the …

Background Lignin is a polyphenolic polymer that strengthens and waterproofs the cell wall
of specialized plant cell types. Lignification is part of the normal differentiation programme …

Plant roots forage the soil for minerals whose concentrations can be orders of magnitude
away from those required for plant cell function. Selective uptake in multicellular organisms …

Lignin is a major component of secondarily thickened plant cell walls and is considered to
be the second most abundant biopolymer on the planet. At one point believed to be the …

Highlights•Cellulose interactions with the matrix depend on microfibril shape.•Physical data
point to a microfibril made of 18–24 chains, not 36 chains.•Recent structures for cellulose …