title: The attachment strategy of English ivy: a complex mechanism acting on several hierarchical levels.
abstract: English ivy (Hedera helix L.) is able to grow on vertical substrates such as trees, rocks and house plaster, thereby attaching so firmly to the surface that when removed by force typically whole pieces of the climbing substrate are torn off. The structural details of the attachment process are not yet entirely understood. We studied the attachment process of English ivy in detail and suggest a four-phase process to describe the attachment strategy: (i) initial physical contact, (ii) form closure of the root with the substrate, (iii) chemical adhesion, and (iv) shape changes of the root hairs and form-closure with the substrate. These four phases and their variations play an important role in the attachment to differently structured surfaces. We demonstrate that, in English ivy, different mechanisms work together to allow the plant's attachment to various climbing substrates and reveal the importance of micro-fibril orientation in the root hairs for the attachment based on structural changes at the subcellular level.
authors.affiliation: Plant Biomechanics Group AG Speck, Botanic Garden Uni-Freiburg, Schaenzlestrasse 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. bjoern.melzer@biologie.uni-freiburg.de
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Melzer
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Steinbrecher
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seidel
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kraft
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwaiger
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Speck
mesh_terms: D035981:Hedera / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008031:Lignin / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D008031:Lignin
references.citation: Protoplasma. 2008;232(3-4):153-63
references.pmid: 18421549
references.citation: Am J Bot. 2006 Oct;93(10):1391-401
references.pmid: 21642086
references.citation: Planta Med. 1991 Jun;57(3):260-2
references.pmid: 1896525
references.citation: Science. 2007 May 11;316(5826):884-6
references.pmid: 17495170
references.citation: Am J Bot. 2009 Apr;96(4):719-27
references.pmid: 21628227
references.citation: J Struct Biol. 2008 Oct;164(1):101-7
references.pmid: 18625323
references.citation: Nat Mater. 2008 Jan;7(1):8-9
references.pmid: 18167496
references.citation: Planta. 1991 Nov;185(4):545-53
references.pmid: 24186533
references.citation: Nature. 2006 Sep 28;443(7110):407
references.pmid: 17006505
references.citation: Integr Comp Biol. 2009 Jul;49(1):69-79
references.pmid: 21669847
references.citation: J R Soc Interface. 2006 Oct 22;3(10):689-97
references.pmid: 16971337
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Sep 16;100(19):10603-6
references.pmid: 12960386
references.citation: Planta. 2007 Jan;225(2):485-98
references.pmid: 16955273
references.citation: Nature. 2000 Jun 8;405(6787):681-5
references.pmid: 10864324
references.citation: Acta Biomater. 2010 Apr;6(4):1497-504
references.pmid: 19818882
references.citation: Faraday Discuss. 2008;139:275-82; discussion 309-25, 419-20
references.pmid: 19049001
references.citation: Planta. 2007 Sep;226(4):981-7
references.pmid: 17554550
references.citation: Science. 1997 Sep 19;277(5333):1830-2
references.pmid: 9295275
references.citation: Mar Biotechnol (NY). 2007 Nov-Dec;9(6):661-81
references.pmid: 17990038
references.citation: Nano Lett. 2008 May;8(5):1277-80
references.pmid: 18355053