Electron microscopy of developing plant cell walls.

Abstract The development of the walls of meristematic cells (maize and oat coleoptiles) has been studied with the electron microscope. It has been found that the growing primary wall appears first as a loose framework which changes quickly into a dense network by the deposition of fresh cellulose fibrils. By the time the cell has reached its final size, deposition of a secondary wall has begun. The fibrils in its several layers are not interwoven but are deposited more or less parallel to one another. A discussion is given of the bearing of these results on previous knowledge of the mechanism. of growth of cell walls