Mechanics and dynamics of cell-to-cell adhesion in plants

Cell-to-cell adhesion is a fundamental feature of multicellular organisms. How it is controlled and maintained is a complex question that remains to be studied in plants.

Our recent work demonstrated that it is more complex than previously suspected, and that it should require a tight control for its maintenance, notably in response to the tissue-scale tension that tends to pull the cells apart.Preliminary observations suggest that mechanical signals and the actin network are involved in cell adhesion maintenance in plants.

Here, to explore this question, we will use reverse genetic and pharmaceutical approaches to identify and characterize molecular players involved the actin-mediated maintenance of cell adhesion.

We will then use micromechanical devices and confocal microscopy to study actin, vesicular trafficking and cell wall response to mechanical stress as well as cell to cell adhesion strength.

The work will be carried out on Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings, and the results will be integrated throughout the duration of the project using modelling approaches.The goal is to uncover the dynamic mechanisms that allow the maintenance of cell adhesion in plants, from the perception of mechanical signals to the physical reinforcement of the cell wall.

Beyond cell adhesion, this work should lead to major discoveries on the mechanisms of plant mechanosensing, actin and cell wall dynamics, with broad implications in plants biology and our understanding of multicellularity.