Outer protective barriers of animals use a variety of bio‐polymers, based on either proteins
(eg collagens), or modified sugars (eg chitin). Plants, however, have come up with a …

This article reviews the responses of plant roots to elevated rhizosphere cadmium (Cd)
concentrations. Cadmium enters plants from the soil solution. It traverses the root through …

Background Mycorrhizal strategies are very effective in enhancing plant acquisition of poorly-
mobile nutrients, particularly phosphorus (P) from infertile soil. However, on very old and …

The plant cell wall, often the site of initial encounters between plants and their microbial
pathogens, is composed of a complex mixture of cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin …

Cutin and suberin are the polymer matrices for lipophilic cell wall barriers. These barriers
control the fluxes of gases, water and solutes, and also play roles in protecting plants from …

Root responses to environmental stresses show a high level of cell type and developmental
stage specificity. Interactions with beneficial and pathogenic organisms–including microbes …

Suberin is a lipid-phenolic biopolyester deposited in the cell walls of certain boundary tissue
layers of plants, such as root endodermis, root and tuber peridermis, and seed coats …

A Casparian strip–bearing endodermis is a feature that has been invariably present in the
roots of ferns and angiosperms for approximately 400 million years. As the innermost cortical …

Suberin is a specialized cell wall modifying polymer comprising both phenolic-derived and
fatty acid-derived monomers, which is deposited in below-ground dermal tissues (epidermis …

Cutinized leaf epidermal cells and suberized root cell walls form important lipophilic
interfaces between the plant and its environment, significantly contributing to the regulation …