Abstract text: Growth by expansion or elongation is a vital property of plant cells. Turgor pressure drives this process, while the mechanical properties of the primary cell walls control it. The composition and architecture of the cell wall determine these properties. The mechanisms underlying the growth of plant cells in grasses are not well understood, partly due to the differences in their cell walls compared to the classic type I cell walls found in most model plants. Unlike stem internodes and coleoptiles, which are typically the focus of growth studies in grasses, the root tip allows for the study of several sequential stages of cell development. We conducted transcriptomic, coexpression, immunohistochemical, and glycoside hydrolase activity analyses across five zones of the primary root of maize (Zea mays L.), ranging from the cell division zone to the end of elongation. We examined all known glycosyltransferase and glycoside hydrolase genes involved in forming and modifying primary cell wall polysaccharides. This approach enabled us to reveal the underestimated processes and molecular participants and to develop a comprehensive model of type II cell wall rearrangement during elongation growth.

The study was supported by the RSF, project #25-65-00045.