Abstract text: Plant cells maintain cell wall homeostasis by sensing and interpreting mechanochemical cues. We view the cell wall integrity monitoring system as a communication network in which mechanical and chemical changes in the wall propagate through the apoplastic continuum, coordinating responses within and between cells. A central challenge is to connect defined wall perturbations to quantitative, time-resolved, measurable wall states and to decisions shaping development and environmental responses. 

 Our lab tackles this with a cross-system strategy, spanning Arabidopsis, green algae, and crop models such as cotton, while keeping perturbations and readouts comparable. We impose local challenges that mimic wall weakening or damage, then map mechanical dynamics with Brillouin microscopy, integrated with wall composition and spatially resolved cellular readouts, to capture early responses and their spread through the apoplast. To improve control over timing and magnitude, we are developing new approaches to generate defined changes in the cell wall, including wall-like synthetic matrices and optogenetically-controlled wall enzymes. 

We present a framework to define reproducible wall states and relate them to downstream cellular programmes, including cell-cycle gating during developmental transitions and activation of wall-associated biotic and abiotic stress responses. Thus, our work connects wall homeostasis to integrated control of growth and environment-facing responses.