Robotic device tracks plant growth at the cellular level

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Life Science Weekly -- Plant scientists have a new tool in their toolkit. The automated confocal micro-extensometer (ACME)--developed by a team of researchers in Europe and the US--allows scientists to measure spatial variation in the mechanical properties of plant cells with unprecedented accuracy.

Plant cell growth is limited by the mechanical properties of the surrounding cell wall. Cell walls in the growing parts of a plant are thought to be much more extensible (stretchy) than those in mature parts, and these local differences in cell wall extensibility affect the overall shape of the plant. Until now, it was not possible to measure cell wall extensibility in the direction of growth in living plants. A team of researchers led by Cris Kuhlemeier of the Institute of Plant Sciences …

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(2017-12-05), Robotic device tracks plant growth at the cellular level, Life Science Weekly, 1427, ISSN: 1552-2474, BUTTER® ID: 014786009