title: Mapping nano-scale mechanical heterogeneity of primary plant cell walls.
abstract: Nanoindentation experiments are performed using an atomic force microscope (AFM) to quantify the spatial distribution of mechanical properties of plant cell walls at nanometre length scales. At any specific location on the cell wall, a complex (non-linear) force-indentation response occurs that can be deconvoluted using a unique multiregime analysis (MRA). This allows an unambiguous evaluation of the local transverse elastic modulus of the wall. Nanomechanical measurements on suspension-cultured cells (SCCs), derived from Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) starchy endosperm, show three characteristic modes of deformation and a spatial distribution of elastic moduli across the surface. 'Soft' and 'hard' domains are found across length scales between 0.1 µm and 3 µm, which is well above a typical pore size of the polysaccharide mesh. The generality and wider applicability of this mechanical heterogeneity is verified through in planta characterization on leaf epidermal cells of Arabidopsis thaliana and L. multiflorum The outcomes of this research provide a basis for uncovering and quantifying the relationships between local wall composition, architecture, cell growth, and/or morphogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia gleb.yakubov@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Gleb E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Yakubov
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Mauricio R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Bonilla
authors.affiliation: Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Huaying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Monika S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Doblin
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Antony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bacic
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gidley
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Jason R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Stokes
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D056625:Endosperm / Q000166:cytology; D008129:Lolium / Q000166:cytology; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000166:cytology; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
keywords: Atomic force microscopy; Lolium; cell mechanics; multiflorum; nanoindentation; primary cell walls; suspended culture.