Plant Cell Growth in Tissue

Abstract

Abstract Cell walls are part of the apoplasm pathway that transports water, solutes, and nutrients to cells within plant tissue. Pressures within the apoplasm (cell walls and xylem) are often different from atmospheric pressure during expansive growth of plant cells in tissue. The previously established Augmented Growth Equations are modified to evaluate the turgor pressure, water uptake, and expansive growth of plant cells in tissue when pressures within the apoplasm are lower and higher than atmospheric pressure. Analyses indicate that a step-down and step-up in pressure within the apoplasm will cause an exponential decrease and increase in turgor pressure, respectively, and the rates of water uptake and expansive growth each undergo a rapid decrease and increase, respectively, followed by an exponential return to their initial magnitude. Other analyses indicate that pressure within the apoplasm decreases exponentially to a lower value after a step-down in turgor pressure, which simulates its behavior after an increase in expansive growth rate. Also, analyses indicate that the turgor pressure decays exponentially to a constant value that is the sum of the critical turgor pressure and pressure within the apoplasm during stress relaxation experiments in which pressures within the apoplasm are not atmospheric pressure. Additional analyses indicate that when the turgor pressure is constant (clamped), a decrease in pressure within the apoplasm elicits an increase in elastic expansion followed by an increase in irreversible expansion rate. Some analytical results are supported by prior experimental research, and other analytical results can be verified with existing experimental methods.