Plant cells are surrounded by an intricately structured protective coat called the cell wall. It’s built of cellulose microfibrils intertwined with polysaccharides like hemicellulose or pectin. We ...

Artistic rendering of cellulose biosynthesis with zoomed in view. Individual cellulose chains (dark brown) are synthesized by plasma membrane-bound (purple) cellulose synthase enzyme complexes (cream) ...

The newly discovered algae species Streptofilum arcticum possesses a potentially highly flexible cell wall: When water is scarce, the cell and cell wall shrinks; when water becomes available again, ...

In a groundbreaking study on the synthesis of cellulose -- a major constituent of all plant cell walls -- a team has captured images of the microscopic process of cell-wall building continuously over ...