A team of researchers have captured continuous photographs of cellulose synthesis through which plant cell walls get built with the help of living plant cells.
The study, published in Science Advances journal, was carried forward by a team of researchers at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. They captured images of the microscopic process of the cell-wall building for a duration of more than 24 hours with living plant cells, read a statement on the university's website.
Further, it has opened up practical possibilities in areas like medical innovations, biofuels, biodegradable plastics, and textiles.
The researchers believe that it can even contribute towards fundamental knowledge as it provides in-depth understanding of the formation of cell walls.
It is the result of over six years of collaboration among three of the university's laboratories, which includes the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering.
Sang-Hyuk Lee, an author of the study, said the research is the "first direct visualisation" about how cellulose synthesises and "self-assembles into a dense fibril network on a plant cell surface, since Robert Hooke’s first microscopic observation of cell walls in 1667”.
As per the official release, the microscope-generated video images of the study feature protoplasts of Arabidopsis that go on to sprout filaments of cellulose fibers. These later go on to self-assemble as part of a complex network on the outer surface of the cell.
After seeing the video images for the first time, Lee said he was "very surprised" looking at the emerging ordered structures that came out of the "chaotic dance of molecules".
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