Plant Cell Walls and Cell-to-Cell Links

Plant cell walls help neighboring cells stay attached. Their rigid walls are built from cell wall polysaccharides that support cell-cell adhesion. In primary cell walls, two connected polysaccharide networks work together: a pectin matrix and a second network made of cellulose and hemicelluloses.

Cell adhesion provides organized tissue structure and allows the transmission of molecular signals for cell-cell communication.

In plants, most cell-cell adhesions are mediated by cell wall polysaccharides, such as pectins. During cell division, as a plate forms between the dividing cells, RG II, a pectin polysaccharide, localizes at the ...