Wound-Healing in Higher Plants

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the nature of the stimulus to cell division, the course of wound repair, and the biochemistry associated with these events. Most studies on wound healing in higher plants have concentrated on mitotic and postmitotic events. The temperature rise in onion epidermal cells occurs immediately after wounding and reaches a maximum of about 0.08°. An increase in the level of several enzymes has been observed in cells responding to a wound stimulus. This increase often occurs prior to cell division. Fine structure studies of wound-healing, particularly in its early stages, seem to be a fertile field for further investigations and necessary for a better understanding of the events involved. Such studies can yield information as to the transmittability of the wound stimulus. It is impossible to draw any convincing overall schemes explaining wound healing. The data presented clearly point to the participation of hormonal factors, some of which are not yet characterized, as well as other factors in promoting cell division and differentiation. Studies, particularly of a quantitative nature, must be undertaken if this biological problem is to be addressed.